on 


Logical  s' 


315 


Hi  tite  «0rltr 

THEIR  ORIGIN   AND   THEIR 
ROMANCE 

'BY 

ALLAN  SUTHERLAND 

WITH    AN    INTRODUCTION    BY 

The  Rev.  HENRY  C.  McCOOK,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Sc.D. 


KUttstrateTr 


NEW   YORK 
FREDERICK   A.  STOKES   COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


g^i:;N, 


Copyright,  1905 
By  The  Butterick   Publishing  Co.,  Ltd. 

Copyright,  1906 
By  Frederick  A.  Stokes  Company 


f'-^%,  >  This  edition  published  in  October,  1906 


THE  UNIYEESITY  PKKSS,  CAMBRIDGE,  U.  S.  A. 


TO 

THE     MEMORY 

OF  THOSE  WHO   HAVE    LEFT   TO    US   THE    PEICELESS 

LEGACY   OF   THESE    IMMORTAL 

HYMNS 

AND   TO    ALL   THOSE    TO    WHOM   THESE    HYMNS 
ARE    DEAR 

THIS    VOLUME    IS    AFFECTIONATELY    DEDICATED 
BY  THE   AUTHOR 


Blessed  be  God  for  these  hymns  of  penitence  and  faith  and  love  I 
They  renew  within  us  the  fervor  of  the  days  when  at  the  Gross  we 
first  saw  the  light,  and  the  burdens  of  our  hearts  rolled  away  ;  and 
they  bring  us  as  penitents  anew  to  the  pierced  feet  of  Him  Who  died 
to  wash  away  our  sins.  —  Rev.  Flotd  W.  Tomkins,  S.T.D. 

Hymns  are  the  exponent  of  the  innermost  piety  of  the  Church. 
They  are  the  jewels  which  the  Church  has  worn,  the  pearls,  the  dia- 
monds, the  precious  stones  formed  into  amulets  more  potent  against 
sorrow  and  sadness  than  the  most  famous  charm  of  the  wizard  or 
magician.  And  he  who  knows  the  way  that  hymns  flowed,  knows 
where  the  blood  of  true  piety  ran,  and  can  trace  itsveiiu  and  ut«ries 
to  the  very  heart.  —  Hxnbt  Wabd 


FOREWORD 


URING  the  year  1905  a 
series  of  articles  on  twelve 
of  our  most  popular 
hymns  appeared  in  The 
Delineator  and  attracted 
far-reaching  attention.  In  accordance 
with  a  very  generally  expressed  desire, 
they  are  now  presented  in  an  enlarged 
and  more  permanent  form. 

In  the  course  of  preparing  these  arti- 
cles for  publication,  the  author  wrote  to 
a  number  of  prominent  persons,  minis- 
ters for  the  most  part,  submitting  a  list 
of  hymns,  which  had  been  carefully 
selected,  and  asking  them  for  incidents 
or  for  any  personal  experiences  which 
they  themselves  or  their  friends  had  had 
in  connection  with  these  favourite  "songs 


FOREWORD 

of  the  heart,"  the  desire  being  to  intro- 
duce as  much  original  and  helpful  matter 
as  possible. 

The  interest  manifested  in  the  re- 
sponses was  very  gratifying  and  encour- 
aging ;  but  while  many  kindly  sent 
contributions,  by  far  the  larger  number 
replied,  in  substance  :  "  I  regret  to  state 
that  I  have  had  no  personal  experiences 
in  connection  with  these  hymns." 

A  distinguished  minister  doubtless 
gives  the  true  explanation.  He  writes : 
"  I  can  heartily  sympathise  with  you  in 
your  efforts  to  secure  fresh  and  original 
matter.  The  fact  is,  our  ministers,  as 
a  rule,  usually  sing  the  hymns  so  per- 
functorily, and  so  utterly  thoughtless  of 
practical  results,  that  there  are  really 
few  known  incidents  occurring  outside 
of  the  special  meetings  held  by  evan- 
gelists in  which  songs  play  so  prominent 
and  valuable  a  part." 

The  incidents  are  given  as  they  were 
received,  although,  as  with  those  relative 

vi 


FOREWORD 

to  •*  Jesus,  Lover  of  my  Soul,"  there  is, 
at  times,  lack  of  agreement.  Apart  from 
these  incidents,  for  which,  of  course,  the 
author  cannot  claim  responsibility,  a 
painstaking  effort  has  been  made  at 
accuracy  of  statement.  For  the  most 
part,  the  incidents  are  new,  the  usual 
stock  stories  which  appear  in  books  of  a 
similar  character  having  been,  to  a  large 
extent,  excluded. 

Each  article  has  its  own  peculiar  in- 
terest. In  some  cases  it  seemed  best  to 
make  much  of  the  life  of  the  composer 
of  the  hymn ;  in  others,  the  hymn  it- 
self and  its  incidents  received  the  most 
attention. 

The  matter  given  contains  material 
enough  for  a  sermon  on  each  hymn ; 
and  the  hope  is  expressed  that  the  read- 
ing of  this  volume  will  suggest  to  many 
ministers  a  series  of  sermons  on  this 
most  interesting  subject. 

In  preparing  the  articles  which  ap- 
peared in  The  Delineator  for  this  more 


FOREWORD 

durable  form,  much  valuable  matter  has 
been  inserted,  and  several  popular  hymns 
have  been  added. 

The  author  is  indebted  to  all  those 
who  have  contributed  to  these  pages ; 
to  Mr.  Charles  M.  Alexander,  Mr.  W. 
H.  Doane,  and  Mr.  E.  O.  Excell  for 
copyright  privileges  ;  to  Dr.  McCook 
for  his  excellent  Introductory,  and  to 
Mr.  Harry  Pringle  Ford  for  valuable 
literary  assistance,  —  to  all  of  whom  he 
publicly  returns  his  grateful  thanks. 

This  volume  goes  forth  on  its  mission 
of  love  and  service  with  the  hope  that 
it  may  develop  a  greater  affection  for 
and  interest  in  our  familiar  hymns  and 
their  authors;  and,  above  all,  it  goes 
with  the  earnest  prayer  that  it  may  be 
instrumental  in  leading  immortal  souls 
to  a  saving  knowledge  of  the  Master. 

ALLAN   SUTHERLAND, 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  1906. 


Tiii 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Introductory xiii 

I    Jesus,  Lover  of  my  Soul  ...  1 

II    Abide  with  Me 27 

III  Just  as  I  Am 47 

IV  My  Faith  looks  up  to  Thee  .     .  71 
V    Sun  of  my  Soul 95 

VI    Lead,  Kindly   Light      .     .     .     .  115 

VII    Rock  of  Ages 133 

VIII    A  Mighty  Fortress  is  our  God  155 

IX    Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee      .     .  179 

X    Onward,  Christian  Soldiers   .     .  203 
XI    Come,   Thou   Fount   of   Every 

Blessing 225 

XII    Stand  up.  Stand  up  for  Jesus     ,  245 
ix 


CONTENTS 

rxan 

XIII  There   is   a   Fountain  filled 

WITH  Blood    .     ...     .     .     .  267 

XIV  From   Greenland's   Icy   Moun- 

tains        297 

XV    Safe  in  the  Arms  of  Jesus     .  319 

XVI    My  Country,  \  is  of  Thee  .     .  339 

XVII    The  Glory  Song 367 

XVIII    Sunset  and  Evening  Star   .     .  391 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

"'Yes,'  said  the  dying  soldier,  'please  sing  to 

me  "Jesus,  Lover  of  My  Soul  " ' "     Frontispiece 

PAGE 

The  Rev.  Henry  C.  McCook,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

ScD xiii 

"The  great  hymn,  'Abide  with  Me,'  doubt- 
less conceived  in  the  walk  by  the  sea"       38 

"Come  to  Him  just  as  you  are"     ....       54 

"With  a  deep  consciousness  of  his  own  needs, 
he  transferred  to  paper,  as  faithfully  as 
he  could,  what  was  passing  within  him"       90 

"And  in  quiet  country  places,  we  turn  in- 
stinctively to  the  one  hymn  that  fits 
into  our  mood  and  need"      .     .     .     .     112 

John    Henry   Newman,   author   of  "Lead, 

Kindly  Light" 118 

"  Then  it  was  that  I  wrote  the  lines,  '  Lead, 

Kindly  Light'" 122 

"In  like  manner,  Toplady,  exultant  in  his 
view,  wrote  '  Rock  of  Ages '  before  he 
sought  rest" 142 

"  Luther  would  say  to  Melancthon :  '  Come, 

Philip,  let  us  sing  the  46th  Psalm '  "     .     l64 
xi 


€t 


(C 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PA»E 

Or  if  on  joyful  wing  cleaving  the  sky,  sun, 

moon,  and  stars  forgot,  upwards  I  fly  "  .     180 

Sang  most  heartily  'Onward,  Christian 
Soldiers,'  to  cheer  the  Christian  Japan- 
ese in  the  ranks  " 220 

"  Came  to  him  now  with  a  new  and  a  power- 
ful personal  appeal  " 242 

''  Now,  father,  I  am  ready.     Tell  them,  '  Let 

us  all  stand  up  for  Jesus '  "      ....     258 

William  Cowper,  author  of  "  There  Is  a  Foun- 
tain Filled  with  Blood " 270 

"He  retired  for  that  purpose  to  a  distant 

part  of  the  room" 304 

"  Fanny,  I  have  just  forty  minutes  ;  during 

that  time  you  must  write  me  a  hymn  "     332 

The    Rev.    Samuel    Francis    Smith,    D.D., 

author  of  "  My  Country,  'Tis  of  Thee  "     342 

" '  I've  got  a  song  that  is  going  to  live  !  "*  .     372 
Charles  M.  Alexander 374 

Lord    Tennyson,   author   of   "Sunset    and 

Evening   Star" 394 

My  eye  caught  in  the  cloudless  atmosphere 
the  gleam  of  a  star,  resplendent  in  its 
beauty" 406 


xu 


(( 


Photo   by  Gutekunst,  Philadelphia. 

THE     REV^D     HENRY     C.     McCOOK,     D.D.,     LL.D.,     Sc.D. 


INTRODUCTORY 

BY  THE 

REV.  HENRY  C.  McCOOK,  D.D.,LL.D.,  Sc.D.* 

ROM  the  earliest  eras  of 
history,  rehgion  has  been 
wedded  to  song.  In  every 
stage  of  civihsation  and  in 
well-nigh  every  form  of 
worship  this  has  been  true.  From  the 
rude  ululations  of  savage  medicine-men, 
with  the  monotonous  beat  of  tum-tums, 
to  the  splendid  Levitical  choir  of  the 
Hebrew  temple  that  rendered  the  psalms 
to  the  accompaniment  of  stringed  and 

*  President  of  the  Presbyterian  Historical  Society ;  Chaplain  of  the 
Forty-first  Regiment,  Illinois  Volunteers,  1861-62 ;  Chaplain  of  the  Sec- 
ond Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  during  the  Spanish-American 
War;  Foimderof  the  National  Relief  Commission,  in  Spanish- American 
War;  Author  of  "The  Latimers :  A  Scotch-Irish  Historic  Romance  of 
the  Western  Insurrection,"  "Women  Friends  of  Jesus,"  "The  Last 
Days  of  Jesus,"  "  The  Gospel  of  Nature,"  "  Tenants  of  an  Old  Farm," 
"American  Spiders  and  their  Spinning-work,"  "Old  Farm  Fairies," 
"The  Agricultural  Ant  of  Texas,"  "The  Honey  and  Occident  Ants," 
and  "Martial  Graves  of  our  Fallen  Heroes  in  Santiago  de  Cuba:  A 
Record  of  the  Spanish-American  War." 
xiii 


INTRODUCTORY 

brazen  instruments,  the  record  does  not 
vary. 

How  rhythm  and  melody  react  upon 
the  religious  sentiment,  and  why  religious 
experience  naturally  flows  in  rh5rthmic 
utterance,  one  need  not  here  inquire. 
Such  inquiries  belong  to  the  natural  his- 
tory of  sacred  psalmody.  But  there  are 
our  sacred  books  to  attest  the  facts.  A 
large  part  of  them  are  poems.  The 
poets  of  ancient  Israel  were  true  prophets. 
The  core  of  the  Hebrew  religion  and 
worship  lay  within  its  religious  songs  ; 
and  these  are  the  portions  of  its  ritual 
that  have  lived  ;  and  one  may  safely 
predict  that  they  shall  run  the  whole 
cycle  of  being  with  our  race. 

As  far  back  as  the  days  of  Moses,  we 
read  of  Miriam  under  a  prophetic  im- 
pulse breaking  forth  into  song  to  com- 
memorate the  deliverance  of  Israel  from 
the  Egyptians  on  the  peninsular  shore  of 


INTRODUCTORY 

the  Red  Sea.     A  refrain  of  that  hymn 
has  come  down  to  us : 

**  Sing  unto  the  Lord  for  He  hath  triumphed  gloriously ; 
The  horse  and  his  rider  He  hath  whelmed  within  the 
sea." 

That  such  religious  songs  were  not 
rare  and  that  their  musical  utterance 
was  even  then  organized  as  a  part  of 
worship,  appears  from  the  fact  that 
Miriam's  countrywomen  accompanied 
her  with  their  guitars,  and  joined  in  the 
chorus. 

The  Songs  of  Deborah  illumined  the 
period  of  the  Judges.  They  have  been 
given  a  place  by  competent  critics 
among  the  noblest  lyrics  of  antiquity. 
One  of  these,  Heinrich  Ewald,  speaks 
of  them  as  so  artistic,  with  all  their  an- 
tique simplicity,  that  they  show  to  what 
"refined  art  poetry  early  aspired,  and 
what  a  delicate  perception  of  beauty 
breathed  already  beneath  its  stiff  and 
cumbrous  soul." 


INTRODUCTORY 

The  Gospel  era  dawned  in  the  midst 
of  holy  songs,  hymned  by  angels,  by 
holy  men  and  women,  and  by  the  Mother 
of  our  Lord.  From  that  day  on  the 
Church  of  Jesus  has  been  vocal  with 
psalmody.  The  primitive  Church  had 
her  spiritual  songs.  The  saintliness  of 
the  early  Christian  ages  survives  in  the 
Greek  and  Latin  hymns,  and  the  pleas- 
ant task  of  translating  and  assembling 
the  choicest  of  these  has  occupied  many 
gifted  minds. 

The  Protestant  Reformation  of  the 
sixteenth  century  was  borne  forward  on 
waves  of  sacred  song.  The  sweet  voice 
of  the  student  lad  that  appealed  from 
the  snowy  street  to  the  heart  of  Dame 
Ursula  Cotta,  and  opened  her  doors  to 
Martin  Luther,  was  a  type  of  the  new 
time.  The  new  songs  of  the  Reforma- 
tion and  the  old  psalms  renewed  in  the 
vernacular  and  in  popular  musical  forms, 


INTRODUCTORY 

prepared  the  way  of  multitudes  for  the 
revived  truths  of  the  GospeL 

Luther's  musical  taste  and  talent  im- 
pressed itself  upon  Germany,  and  thence 
upon  Europe.  His  free  spirit  found 
utterance  outside  of  the  Biblical  forms 
of  praise  in  metrical  renderings  of  his 
own  and  other  religious  experiences. 
Calvin  saw  the  value  and  authority  of 
popular  praises,  and  encouraged  and  pro- 
cured their  use  in  the  new  organisation 
of  reformed  worship  of  which  he  was 
the  chief  agent.  But  his  more  conserv- 
ative spirit  in  such  matters  held  to  the 
ancient  psalms ;  and  this  influenced 
all  Europe  outside  of  Germany.  The 
Church  of  England  used  the  version  of 
Sternhold  and  Hopkins,  and  these  will 
be  found  appended  to  the  early  prayer- 
books.  Rous's  version  was  substantially 
that  best  liked  and  approved  by  the 
Church  of  Scotland. 

xvii 


INTRODUCTORY 

The  historic  "Huguenot  Psalter"  was 
the  joint  work  of  Clement  Marot  and 
Theodore  Beza,  the  former  having  ren- 
dered into  French  metre  the  first  fifty- 
psalms,  and  the  latter  the  remaining  one 
hundred.  These,  set  to  popular  music, 
caught  the  ear  and  heart  of  the  people 
of  all  ranks.  They  ran  rapidly  through- 
out French-speaking  nations,  and  be- 
came as  well  known  as  the  "Gospel 
Hymns  "  in  the  palmy  days  of  Moody 
and  Sankey. 

The  Hebrew  Psalter  embodies  the  re- 
ligious experiences  of  the  chosen  people, 
whose  faith,  more  spiritual  than  that  of 
any  other  nation  of  antiquity,  was  in- 
breathed and  nurtured  by  the  Holy 
Spirit.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that 
the  one  hundred  and  fifty  psalms  in- 
cluded within  the  canonical  psalter  were 
the  only  ones  that  the  poets  of  Israel 
hymned.     But  these,  in  the  process  of 

xviii 


INTRODUCTORY 

an  inspired  selection  and  a  devotional 
development,  were  the  ones  that  filled 
and  satisfied  the  religious  consciousness 
of  that  most  spiritual  people,  and  be- 
came the  vehicle  of  not  only  a  national 
but  of  an  international  praise. 

For  the  Book  of  Psalms  is  a  book  for 
all  nations.  The  very  divinity  of  its 
origin  insures  its  catholic  humanity. 
It  has  proved  its  high  ethnic  qualities 
by  ages  of  w^orld-wide  usage.  A  cloud 
of  witnessing  praises,  rising  from  the 
Church  of  every  age  and  name  through- 
out centuries  of  testing,  testifies  to  its 
fitness.  If  the  taste  of  this  era  —  much 
to  the  regret  of  some  of  us  —  has  largely 
rejected  metrical  versions  in  the  vernac- 
ular, yet  their  use,  after  the  manner  of 
the  ancients,  in  chants,  still  holds  and 
even  widens  in  the  Church's  service  of 
praise. 

At  all  events,  enough  has  been  writ- 


INTRODUCTORY 

ten  to  show  that  the  selective  work  of 
Mr.  Allan  Sutherland,  in  collecting  some 
of  the  hymns  that  have  most  approved 
themselves  to  the  religious  experiences 
of  Christians  of  recent  times,  is  quite  in 
line  with  the  devotional  spirit  and  acts 
of  past  generations.  Certainly  such  a 
collection  can  make  no  claim  to  inspira- 
tion in  the  highest  sense.  But  believing, 
as  we  all  must  do,  that  God,  the  Holy 
Ghost,  still  speaks  to  and  through  the 
spirits  and  lives  of  pious  men  and 
women,  there  is  surely  no  small  degree 
of  authority  and  interest  in  those  hymns 
that  have  voiced  the  spiritual  life  of  a 
great  multitude,  and  of  which  fact  illus- 
trations are  here  presented. 

Moreover,  it  is  most  fitting  that  such 
hymns  and  psalms  should  be  prepared 
for  a  truly  catholic  constituency.  It  is 
significant  that  the  hymns  which  have 
fastened  themselves  upon  the  hearts  of 


INTRODUCTORY 

the  devout  in  any  one  branch  of  the 
Church  are  those  which  are  loved  and 
used  by  all  who  honour  and  love  the 
name  of  Christ.     In  all  ages  the  truly 
devout  are  one  in  spiritual  sympathy,  and 
therefore  the  forms  of  praise  which  utter 
the  devotions  of  one  heart  bear  alike  to 
God  the  aspirations  of   another.     The 
Calvinistic  Toplady,  Watts,  and  Bonar ; 
the  Methodist  Wesleys ;  the  AngUcan 
Heber,  Ken,  and  Keble ;  the  Romanist 
Faber  and  Newman,  and  all  the  goodly 
company  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of 
Asaph,  when  uttering  the  devotions  of 
their  souls,  speak  in  one  tongue. 

There  is  something  divine  in  the  flame 
of  sacred  poesy  that  burns  out  there- 
from the  dross  of  sect.  The  hymns  of 
the  most  rigid  denominations  are  rarely 
"  sectarian.  There  is  not  a  presbjrter  or 
priest  in  this  whole  land,  who,  with 
due  tact  and  good  faith,  could  not  con- 


INTRODUCTORY 

duct  a  mission  or  service  of  song  as 
chaplain  of  a  congregation  of  soldiers 
or  sailors  made  up  of  Protestants  and 
Roman  Catholics,  of  all  phases  of  eccle- 
siastical opinions,  without  one  discordant 
note  and  with  perfect  approval  and  en- 
joyment of  all.  This  the  writer,  as  a 
Government  chaplain  in  two  wars  and 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  the  Na- 
tional Guard,  has  repeatedly  done  and 
seen  done. 

Such  great  catholic  missions  as  those 
of  Moody  and  Sankey,  Whittle  and 
Bliss,  Torrey  and  Alexander,  which 
have  appealed  to  all  classes,  conditions, 
and  creeds,  and  have  made  their  services 
so  largely  a  service  of  song,  have  been 
and  remain  impressive  witnesses  of  the 
substantial  unity  of  the  devout  when 
they  engage  in  the  worship  of  praise. 


xzii 


I 

JESUS,  LOVER  OF  MY  SOUL 


STefifusf,  llober  of  mj>  jfoul, 

Het  me  to  tlTfjp  liosom  Up, 
OTJilc  tlje  nearer  toaterjs  roll, 

IMWt  tt)e  tempesit  £(ttU  t£;  btgfi : 
J&ibe  me,  (B  mp  ^abiour,  Jjibe, 

tlTtU  ti)t  £(torm  of  life  is:  pait ; 
^af e  into  tte  baben  gutbe, 

0  recetbe  mp  ssoul  at  las(t. 

([^tfjer  refuge  Ijabe  31  none : 

^ans£;  mp  belplests;  £(oul  on  (ETtee ; 
Heabe,  af) !  leabe  me  not  alone, 

^ttll  fiiupport  anb  comfort  me. 
jail  mp  trust  on  VLf)tt  in  gtapeb, 

jmi  mp  ftelp  from  tlTftee  3  bring: 
Cober  mp  befenceles(fii  t^ab 

Mitd  tbe  sibaboto  of  Ei)p  toing. 

Wilt  Ctou  not  regarb  mp  call? 

Wilt  ^bou  not  accept  mp  praper  7 
Ho,  3  sink,  31  faint,  3  fall  I 

Ho,  on  Cfjee  3J  ca£(t  mp  care ; 
3Reacf)  me  out  tlTfjp  graciousf  fjanbl 

Wi)ile  3)  of  tzrtp  fiitrengti)  receibe, 
iHoping  againsit  tope  3)  £(tanb, 

Bping,  anb  be()olb  3)  libe  1 

3 


FAMOUS   HYMNS   OF   THE   WORLD 

^f)ou,  0  Cftrist,  art  all  3  tuant ; 

iflorc  tljan  all  in  ^fjee  3  f inb ; 
l^ige  tfje  fallen,  cficcr  tfje  faint, 

J^tdiX  ti)e  sitck,  anb  leab  tl)e  tlinb. 
STufift  anb  Ijolp  i£f  tKfip  i^ame ; 

IS  am  all  unrtgi)teous;nesi£f ; 
Jf aisle  anb  full  of  gin  3  am, 

^i)ou  art  full  of  trutf)  anb  grace. 

plenteous;  grace  toiti)  Cijee  is;  founb, 

^race  to  cober  all  mp  siin ; 
Het  t})e  dealing  iixtwxisi  abounb : 

iWafee  anb  keep  me  pure  toitfjin. 
tKftou  of  life  tlje  Jf ountain  art, 

Jf  reel?  let  me  tafee  of  tB^ljee ; 
Spring  Ctou  up  toitfjin  mp  teart» 

3at£(e  to  all  eternity 


JESUS,  LOVER   OF   MY   SOUL 

ORDS WORTH,    who 

himself  was  one  of  the 
world's  sweetest  com- 
posers of  immortal  verse, 
thus  writes: 

"  Blessing  be  with  them,  and  eternal  praise, 
Who  gave  us  nobler  loves,  and  nobler 
cares ! 
The  Poets,  who  on  earth  have  made  us  heirs 
Of  truth  and  pure  delight  by  heavenly 
lays." 

In  the  front  ranks  of  those  who 
might  hope  to  attain  a  portion  of 
the  blessings  thus  invoked  upon  poets 
stands  Charles  Wesley,  who  shares  with 
David,  the  great  psalmist  of  Israel,  the 
honour  of  being  among  earth's  noblest 
and  most  gifted  writers  of  song. 

There  is  little  doubt,  perhaps,  that 
the  greatest  song  of  all  the  ages  —  the 
one  which,  above  all  others,  has  brought 
peace  and  comfort  to  vast  multitudes; 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

the  one  which,  in  countless  instances, 
has  been  earliest  lisped  in  childhood, 
and  the  last  to  linger  on  the  tongue 
when  Death's  summons  came  —  is  the 
Twenty-third  Psalm.  For  nearly  three 
thousand  years  it  has  occupied  a  fore- 
most place  in  all  God-loving  hearts, 
and  its  beauty  and  strength  have  been 
recognised  and  acknowledged  by  all 
the  world. 

More  than  a  century  and  a  half  ago, 
another  perfect  heart-song,  Charles 
Wesley's  "  Jesus,  Lover  of  My  Soul," 
was  given  to  the  world,  and  it  has  long 
since  become  recognised  as  one  of  the 
noblest  expressions  of  Christian  faith 
and  hope  in  all  literature;  and  while  it 
can  never  diminish  the  glory  of  David's 
matchless  verse,  yet  it  shares  with  it  the 
first  place  in  the  hearts  of  countless 
thousands;  and  the  two  together  voice 
the  creed,  the  hope,  and  the  prayer  of 
Christendom. 

Wesley  ^Tote  this  hymn  at  the  age 


JESUS,    LOVER    OF    MY    SOUL 

of  thirty-two,  when  he  was  at  the 
height  of  his  mental  powers.  Several 
incidents  have  been  narrated  as  having 
suggested  to  him  its  composition,  two 
or  three  of  which  are  here  given:  One 
is,  that  his  narrow  escape  from  death 
in  a  severe  storm  on  the  Atlantic  in- 
spired him  to  portray  in  verse  the 
thoughts  and  sensations  of  a  Christian 
in  deadly  peril.  Another,  that,  as  he 
stood  by  an  open  window  on  a  sum- 
mer day,  a  little  bird,  sorely  pressed  by 
a  hawk,  sought  refuge  in  his  bosom, 
and  that  then  and  there  he  conceived 
the  idea  of  pointing  out  the  soul's  one 
sure  place  of  safety  in  time  of  immi- 
nent need. 

The  Rev.  William  Laurie,  D.D., 
LL.D.,  states  that  Mrs.  Mary  E. 
Hoover,  long  a  member  of  his  church 
in  Bellefonte,  Pa.,  and  whose  own 
grandmother  was  the  heroine  of  the 
story,  informed  him  of  the  following 
family  tradition:  "  Charles  Wesley  was 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

preaching  in  the  fields  of  the  parish 
of  Kilhelee,  County  Down,  Ireland, 
when  he  was  attacked  by  a  number  of 
men  who  did  not  approve  of  his  doc- 
trines. He  sought  safety  in  a  house 
located  on  what  was  known  as  the 
Island  Band  farm.  The  farmer's  wife, 
Jane  Lowrie  Moore,  told  him  to  hide 
in  the  milk  house  down  in  the  garden. 
Soon  the  mob  came,  demanding  the 
fugitive.  She  sought  to  quiet  them 
by  offering  to  get  them  refreshments. 
Going  down  to  the  milk  house,  she 
directed  Mr.  Wesley  to  get  through  a 
rear  window  and  hide  under  the  hedge, 
by  which  ran  a  little  brook.  This  he 
didi,  and  it  was  while  here,  with  the 
cries  of  his  pursuers  all  about  him,  that 
he  wrote  his  immortal  hymn.  Descend- 
ants of  Mrs.  Moore  still  live  in  the 
house,  which  is  much  the  same  as  it  was 
in  Wesley's  time." 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  incit- 
ing cause,  it  resulted  in  inspiring  one 


JESUS,    LOVER    OF    MY    SOUL 

of  the  noblest  songs  of  modern  times, 
and  in  making  the  whole  world  debtor 
to  the  author's  divine  gift  of  poesy. 
We  are  inclined  to  believe  that  the 
same  thing  might  be  said  of  Wesley 
in  this  connection  as  was  said  of  Sid- 
ney Lanier,  the  gifted  Southern  poet. 
Some  one  asked  a  weeping  old  man 
who  stood  by  Lanier's  death-bed,  from 
whence  he  drew  the  power  to  write  such 
beautiful  verse,  and  the  simple  and 
touching  response  was,  "  God  taught 
him."  Surely  Charles  Wesley  was 
"  taught  of  God "  when  he  composed 
the  lines  which  have  so  often  come  as 
a  benediction  to  human  souls  in  their 
night-time  of  sorrow. 

What  volumes  of  incidents  connected 
with  this  hymn  might  be  written !  Per- 
haps there  is  scarcely  a  preacher  who 
has  had  any  extended  experience  with 
death-bed  scenes,  who  could  not '  tell 
one  or  more  interesting  stories  asso- 
ciated   with    it.     Only    a    short    time 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

ago,  a  sainted,  minister,  far  past  the 
allotted  "  threescore  years  and  ten," 
and  whose  strong,  peaceful  face  has 
already  caught  something  of  the  glow 
of  the  eternal  morning,  said:  "The 
hymn  has  always  been  inexpressibly 
dear  to  me;  but  it  took  on  a  new  and 
deeper  meaning  when,  years  ago,  I 
leaned  over  the  dying  form  of  one  of 
the  truest  women  my  life  has  ever 
known,  and  heard  her  whisper  with 
her  latest  breath,  in  broken,  pleading 
tones: 

"*Hide  .  .  me,  .  .  O  my  Saviour,  .  .  hide.' 

Few  words,  it  is  true,  but  enough  to 
indicate  in  whom  she  trusted  as  her 
hold  on  earth  weakened,  and  she  groped 
through  the  shadow  that  veiled  her  dim 
eyes  for  a  space  from  the  glories  of 
Heaven." 

The  Rev.  A.  S.  Fiske,  D.D.,  of 
Washington,  D.  C,  furnishes  this  ten- 
der incident:  "A  lovely  young  mother 

10 


JESUS,    LOVER    OF    MY    SOUL 

and  her  husband  were  the  leaders  of 
our  music  in  the  first  church  of  which 
I  was  the  pastor.  Their  baby,  Mary, 
died.  The  mother,  frail  in  form  and 
of  delicate  beauty,  could  not  recover 
from  the  blow,  and  slowly  faded  into 
consumption.  One  day  I  was  called 
to  her  bedside.  There  I  found  her  hus- 
band, struggling  to  repress  his  anguish, 
waiting  for  the  end.  She  was  serene, 
and  more  exquisitely  beautiful  than 
ever  —  the  hectic  colour  flushing  her 
cheeks  and  her  great,  dark  eyes  aglow. 
She,  too,  knew  that  the  end  was  ap- 
proaching. I  shall  never  forget  the 
indescribable  tenderness  of  her  eyes 
and  the  comfort  in  her  voice,  as  she 
said  to  her  husband,  *  Dearest,  now 
sing  "  Jesus,  Lover  of  My  Soul." ' 
As  we  sang  she  would  now  and  then 
attempt  to  join  us,  but  her  voice  would 
fail,  while  we  faltered  on.  When  the 
hymn  was  ended,  she  murmured :  '  Oh, 

how  sweet!'     Her  eyes  closed  for  a 
u 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

little  and  then  they  flashed  wide  open 
and  her  cheeks  seemed  to  take  on  an 
added  flush.  A  look  of  wonder  and 
delight  came  into  her  face,  and  she 
raised  a  thin,  pale  hand  with  a  caress- 
ing motion,  as  if  gently  stroking  a 
dear  face  bent  above;  her  lips  moved; 
her  husband  bent  to  catch  her  words, 
and  she  was  murmuring  with  all  the  in- 
finite eagerness  of  mother-love,  '  Mary ! 
Baby  Mary! '  Then  her  hand  fell  back 
and  her  eyes  closed  contentedly.  We 
thought  that  she  had  gone  to  join  her 
lost  darling;  but  once  more,  and  for 
the  last  time,  her  eyes  flashed  open,  and 
while  her  face  shone  with  '  a  light  that 
never  was  on  sea  or  land,'  she  stretched 
up  both  hands  with  an  adoring  move- 
ment, and  her  husband  caught  the  words, 

*  Jesus!   Blessed,  blessed  Jesus ! '     The 

*  Lover  of  her  soul '  had  come,  according 
to  His  precious  promise,  and  brought 
Baby  Mary  with  Him  to  receive  her 
to  Himself  and  to  bear  her  away  to 


JESUS,    LOVER    OF    MY    SOUL 

the  blessed  home  in  which  her  husband 
has  long  since  joined  his  loved  ones." 

"  This  hymn  has  special  interest  for 
me,"  writes  the  Rev.  William  R.  Kirk- 
wood,  D.D.,  "  from  the  fact  that  the 
last  intelligible  utterance  of  my  father 
was  from  it.  He  was  an  old  man,  and 
evidently  near  the  end.  I  asked  him 
if  he  found  his  faith  hold  and  Jesus 
precious.  Rousing  his  failing  forces, 
he  answered: 

"  '  Other  refuge  have  I  none ; 

Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  Thee.' 

He  faltered  on  until  he  uttered  the 
last  words  of  the  stanza,  when  his  voice 
failed  and  he  was  not  able  to  speak 
again.  You  will  readily  believe  that 
the  hymn  is  dear  to  me  because  of  this, 
but  you  have  doubtless  noticed  its  won- 
derfully direct  personality  in  its  appeal 
to  the  Lord  —  not  to  an  *  inanimate 
God  '  who  is  '  the  principle  of  our  life,' 
but   to   a   living,    personal   being,   the 

13 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Divine  Man.  This  runs  all  through  it, 
and  I  venture  to  think  that  this  is  one 
of  its  chief  charms,  one  of  the  qualities 
that  make  it  especially  dear  to  the  heart 
in  the  hours  of  '  storm  and  stress.'  " 

This  hymn  was  a  special  favourite 
of  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher.  His  famous 
son,  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  said  of  it: 
"  I  would  rather  have  written  that 
hymn  than  to  have  the  fame  of  all  the 
kings  that  ever  sat  on  the  earth.  It  is 
more  glorious;  it  has  more  power  in  it. 
It  will  go  singing  until  the  last  trump 
brings  forth  the  angel  band;  and  then, 
I  think,  it  will  mount  up  on  some  lips 
to  the  very  presence  of  God." 

"  On  an  intensely  warm  day,"  Mr. 
H.  P.  Ford  relates,  "  as  I  stood  on  the 
corner  of  a  sun-baked  street  in  Phila- 
delphia, waiting  for  a  car  to  take  me 
to  the  cool  retreats  of  Fairmount  Park, 
I  heard  a  low,  quavering  voice  singing, 
with  inexpressible  sweetness,  *  Jesus, 
Lover  of  My  Soul.'    Looking  up  to  an 

14 


JESUS,    LOVER    OF    MY    SOUL 

open  window  whence  the  sound  came, 
I  saw  on  the  sill  a  half -withered  plant 
—  a  pathetic  oasis  of  green  in  a  desert 
of  brick  and  mortar  —  and  resting  ten- 
derly and  caressingly  upon  it  was  an 
emaciated  hand.  I  could  not  see  the 
person  to  whom  the  voice  and  hand 
belonged,  but  that  was  unnecessary  — 
the  story  was  all  too  clearly  revealed: 
I  knew  that  within  that  close,  uncom- 
fortable room  a  human  soul  was  strug- 
gling with  the  great  problem  of  life 
and  death,  and  was  slowly  but  surely 
reaching  its  solution;  I  knew  that  in 
spite  of  her  lowly  surroundings  her 
life  was  going  out  serenely  and  trium- 
phantly. I  shall  never  quite  forget  the 
grave,  pathetic  pleading  in  the  frail 
young  voice  as  these  words  were  borne 
to  me  on  the  oppressive  air: 

"  '  Other  refuge  have  I  none ; 

Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  Thee ; 
Leave,  ah!    leave  me  not  alone. 
Still  support  and  comfort  me ! '  " 
15 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

This  incident  comes  from  the  Rev. 
Stephen  A.  Hunter,  Ph.D.,  LL.D., 
whose  friend,  the  Rev.  James  Rankin, 
of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church, 
was  one  of  the  chief  actors :  "  During 
the  Civil  War,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rankin 
was  serving  under  the  Christian  Com- 
mission and  was  often  called  to  min- 
ister to  the  wounded  and  dying.  After 
one  of  the  battles  he  was  bending  over 
a  dying  soldier.  He  had  ministered  to 
the  physical  wants  of  the  brave  sufferer 
as  best  he  could,  and  then  offered  a 
brief  prayer  commending  him  to  a 
merciful  Saviour.  '  Is  there  anything 
more  I  can  do  for  you? '  said  the  min- 
ister, as  he  was  about  to  go  to  the  help 
of  others.  *  Yes,'  said  the  dying  sol- 
dier, '  please  sing  to  me  "  Jesus,  Lover 
of  My  Soul."  '  The  minister  hesitated. 
He  came  from  a  church  in  which  hymns 
were  never  sung  in  the  worship  of 
God,  and  he  had  been  taught  to  look 
askance    upon    them    as    a    means    of 

16 


JESUS,    LOVER    OF    MY    SOUL 

spiritual  help;  but  there  was  no  deny- 
ing this  dying  plea,  and,  besides,  the 
hymn  had  a  warm  place  in  his  heart  in 
spite  of  his  training.  Softly  and  ten- 
derly he  sang,  as  never  before,  with 
the  thought  that  it  was  comforting  a 
human  soul  in  its  extremity.  As  the 
words  floated  out  in  the  darkness, 
where  the  dead  and  the  wounded  lay, 
a  strange  quiet,  like  that  of  a  great 
benediction,  fell  upon  all,  and  the 
dying  man  clasped  the  hand  of  the 
singer  with  a  heart  full  of  gratitude, 
while  he  sang  on: 

"  *  Hide  me,  O  my  Saviour,  hide, 

Till  the  storm  of  life  is  past; 
Safe  into  the  haven  guide, 
O  receive  my  soul  at  last.' 

"  With  the  closing  strains  there 
seemed  to  come  a  sweet  peace  over 
the  dread  battle  plain.  The  soldier 
relaxed  his  grasp;  the  prayer  was 
heard;  the  song  had  ushered  him 
within  the  gates. 

2  17 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

"  And  the  minister  went  on  in  his 
ministry  of  helpfulness,  with  a  new 
thought  in  his  heart:  If  this  hymn 
will  do  to  die  by,  it  will  do  to  live 
by.  And  in  after  days  he  comforted 
many  dying  souls  with  its  beautiful 
words." 

Some  years  ago  a  ship  was  being 
dashed  to  pieces  on  a  lee  shore.  As 
she  drew  nearer  in  the  thralldom  of 
relentless  breakers,  and  as  the  brief 
winter  twilight  faded  into  night,  a  few 
men  could  be  dimly  seen  desperately 
clinging  to  the  rigging.  It  was  im- 
possible for  a  small  boat  to  live  in  such 
a  sea,  and  there  was  no  other  human 
means  of  rendering  aid.  One  by  one 
the  sailors  hopelessly  gave  up  the 
struggle  that  was  beyond  mortal  en- 
durance, and  their  bodies  were  cast 
upon  the  beach.  It  was  thought  that 
all  had  perished,  when,  in  a  momentary 
lull  in  the  roar  of  the  wind  and  the 
booming  of  the  waters,  a  man's  voice 

18 


JESUS,    LOVER    OF    MY    SOUL 

was  heard,  full  of  pleading,  away  off 
in  the  blackness,  singing: 

"  Hide  me,  O  my  Saviour,  hide, 
Till  the  storm  of  life  is  past ; 
Safe  into  the  haven  guide, 
O  receive  my  soul  at  last." 

The  watchers  heard  no  more.  The 
brave  voice  was  stilled  forever;  the 
sailor  had  reached  "  his  desired  haven." 
Soon  tender  hands  drew  his  storm- 
tossed  body  from  the  surf,  and  the 
next  day  it  was  gently  laid  away  under 
the  trees  in  the  nearby  churchyard. 
On  quiet  Sabbath  mornings,  when  the 
fisherfolk  gather  for  their  spiritual 
devotions,  the  story  of  the  storm  and 
the  song  is  often  repeated. 

The  cheering  words  of  this  match- 
less hymn,  wedded  to  deathless  music, 
will  continue  to  sound  along  the  years, 
making  the  world  better,  faith  stronger, 
and  God  more  real,  until  time  shall  be 
no  more. 

19 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    "VTORLD 

No  history  of  the  hj^nin  would  be 
complete  without  the  story  of  the  beau- 
tiful tune  to  which  it  is  inseparably 
wedded,  and  this  has  been  admirably 
told  by  Dr.  Henry  T.  McEwen,  of 
Amsterdam,  New  York: 

"  By  an  overwhelming  vote,  '  Rock 
of  Ages  '  and  '  Jesus,  Lover  of  My 
Soul '  have  been  placed  in  the  very 
front  rank  of  hymns.  Their  almost 
identical  experience  furnishes  a  coin- 
cidence as  interesting  as  it  is  striking. 
Both  were  written  in  Great  Britain, 
contiguous  in  place  and  contempora- 
neous in  time.  Both  waited  about  a 
century,  and  both  crossed  the  ocean  to 
find  in  America  the  tunes  with  which 
they  have  been  most  blessedly  and  in- 
timately associated.  '  Rock  of  Ages  ' 
found  its  appropriate  musical  setting 
in  the  tune  '  Toplady,'  by  Dr.  Thomas 
Hastings;  and  Charles  Wesley's  great 
hymn,  '  Jesus,  Lover  of  JMy  Soul,' 
found  the  tune  '  Martyn,'  on  which  it 


JESUS,    LOVER    OF    MY    SOUL 

has  been  borne  to  every  land,  and  to 
which  it  is  sung  in  every  tongue. 
Myriads  of  Christians,  toihng  on  in 
faith  and  hope,  who  now  and  then 
gladden  their  hearts  with  song,  give 
this  hymn  and  tune  first  place  in  their 
innermost  affections. 

"  Simeon  B.  Marsh  was  born  in  the 
State  of  New  York  in  1798.  His 
opportunities  were  limited;  his  pas- 
sion for  music  unbounded.  With  Dr. 
Thomas  Hastings,  who  lived  but  a  few 
miles  away,  he  formed  a  lasting  friend- 
ship. Dr.  Hastings  was  then  a  great 
leader  in  the  composition  and  teaching 
of  sacred  music. 

"  Early  in  life  Mr.  Marsh,  during 
the  winter  months,  taught  singing 
schools  in  the  villages  and  hamlets  near 
his  home.  In  his  leisure  hours  he  built 
several  organs  of  limited  size.  In  1832 
he  removed  to  Amsterdam,  New  York, 
where  he  became  the  leader  of  the  choir 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  during 

21 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

the   autumn   and   winter   continued  to 
teach  in  adjacent  villages. 

"  One  morning  in  the  autumn  of 
1834  he  had  started  from  Amsterdam 
to  Johnstown  on  his  weekly  circuit  of 
singing  schools.  The  beautiful  scenery, 
because  familiar,  had  nothing  new  to 
attract  him.  While  he  mused,  the  fire 
of  inspiration  burned  within  him.  At 
the  foot  of  Tribes  Hill,  a  few  miles 
west  of  Amsterdam,  he  dismounted, 
and  leaving  his  horse  to  graze  nearby, 
seated  himself  beneath  a  noble  elm, 
which  then  stood  with  others  where 
now  the  four  tracks  of  the  New 
York  Central  Railway  bear  a  mighty 
commerce  to  the  sea,  and  jotted 
down  on  such  paper  as  he  chanced 
to  have,  the  tune  '  Martyn '  to  the 
words : 

"  '  Mary,  to  her  Saviour's  tomb. 
Hasted  at  the  early  dawn; 
Spice  she  brought  and  sweet  perfume, 
But  the  Lord  she  loved  was  gone.' 


JESUS,    LOYER    OF    MY    SOUL 

"  Arriving  in  Johnstown,  he  wrote 
the  new  tune  on  the  blackboard  for 
the  children's  class  that  afternoon. 
Our  hearts  are  stirred  with  a  new 
tenderness  and  gratitude  as  we  re- 
member that  children's  voices  were  the 
first  to  sing  the  melody.  Encouraged 
by  the  welcome  the  simple  composition 
received  from  his  singing  classes,  Mr. 
Marsh  taught  it  to  his  choir.  The  Sab- 
bath dawned;  the  time  for  the  church 
service  arrived.  What  a  moment  it 
was!  Seated  at  the  organ  which  his 
own  hands  had  built,  and  which  they 
now  played,  Mr.  Marsh  led  the  choir, 
which  he  had  trained,  in  singing  for 
the  first  time,  as  a  part  of  divine  wor- 
ship, the  tune  which  he  himself  had 
composed.  The  appreciation  of  the 
music-loving  congregation  was  instant, 
but  they  little  dreamed  that  the  fame 
of  the  tune  which  they  had  just  heard 
would  be  more  widespread  and  endur- 
ing than  the  hills  encircling  their  classic 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

valley,  that  its  ministry  of  service  would 
extend  through  time  and  eternity. 

"  Some  years  later  Dr.  Hastings 
discovered  that  the  tune  was  better 
adapted  to  '  Jesus,  Lover  of  My  Soul ' 
than  to  the  hymn  selected  by  Mr. 
Marsh.  He  sought  and  secured  from 
his  friend  the  privilege  of  making  the 
change.  In  1870,  not  long  before  his 
death.  Dr.  Hastings,  in  making  his 
famous  collection,  secured  from  Mr. 
Marsh  a  facsimile  of  the  original  score, 
using,  of  course,  the  words  '  Jesus, 
Lover  of  My  Soul,'  and  giving  the 
date  of  composition,  and  adding  the 
composer's  autograph. 

"  When  Gilmore  was  preparing  for 
the  '  World's  Jubilee '  in  Boston,  in 
18T2,  he  selected  '  Martyn  '  as  a  repre- 
sentative American  tune,  and  invited 
Mr.  Marsh  to  hear  it  rendered  on  that 
occasion  by  his  famous  band.  Mr. 
Marsh  died  in  1877. 

"  Sunday    morning,    November    11, 

24 


JESUS,    LOVER    OF    MY    SOUL 

1900,  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Am- 
sterdam began  its  centennial  celebra- 
tion. After  the  historical  sermon,  and 
just  before  the  congregation  rose  to 
sing  the  closing  hymn,  '  Jesus,  Lover 
of  My  Soul,'  to  the  tune  '  Martyn/ 
the  pastor  told  the  story  of  its  com- 
position. In  the  crowded  house  there 
were  many  who  remembered  the  old 
church  edifice  from  which  the  tune  had 
gone  forth  on  its  matchless  ministry. 
There  were  a  few  present  who  had 
received  their  first  lessons  in  singing 
from  Mr.  Marsh.  Tears  of  joy,  grati- 
tude, and  appreciation  rolled  down  the 
cheeks  of  stalwart  men  as  well  as  of 
gracious  women.  Led  by  organ  and 
chorus,  the  congregation  joined  in  an 
outpouring  of  praise  such  as  is  never 
heard  save  when  human  hearts  are 
deeply  stirred." 


25 


II 

ABIDE  WITH  ME 


^btbe  tDitd  me :  fasit  tall^  ti)t  ebentibe ; 
^i)t  barfencsJsi  beepens; ;  Hotb,  toitfj  me  abibe : 
OTfjen  otjjer  ftelperg  fail,  anb  comforts;  flee, 
^elp  of  ti)e  ^elplesis;,  (2^  abtbe  Uitti)  me. 

^totft  to  Its;  clofiie  ebbs;  out  life's;  Itttle  bap; 
€artb*s;  jops;  groUj  bim,  its;  glories;  pas;s;  abjap ; 
Cbange  anb  becap  in  all  arounb  3  s;ee ; 
0  ^fjou  tobo  cfjangesft  not,  abibe  fs>it^  me. 

3J  neeb  tlTbp  pres;ence  eberp  pas;s;ins  fjour; 
'Witat  but  tlTfjp  grace  can  foil  tbe  tempter'jJ 

potoer  ? 
OTbo  like  t!i:bps;elf  mp  guibe  anb  s;tap  can  be? 
tlTbrougb  cloub  anb  s;uns;bine»  0  abibe  tuitb  me. 

3J  fear  no  foe,  toitb  tEbtt  at  banb  to  bles^s;: 
mis;  babe  no  toeigbt,  anb  tears;  no  bitternes;s;. 
OTbere  is;  beatb*«  s;ting?   tobere,  grabe,  tftp 

bictorp  ? 
li  triumpb  sitill,  if  tlTbou  abibe  b)itb  me. 

5iolb  tlTbou  ^bp  cros;sf  before  mp  clos;ing  epes; ; 
^bitte  tbrougb  tbe  gloom,  anb  point  me  to  tbe 

s;feies; : 
llleaben's;  morning  breaks;,  anb   eartb's;   bain 

sJbabotos;  flee: 
in  life,  in  beatb,  0  Horb,  abibe  toitb  me. 


ABIDE   WITH   ME 


OT  often  does  Shelley's 
declaration  of  poets, 
"  They  learn  in  suffer- 
ing what  they  teach  in 
song,"  find  such  com- 
plete verification  as  in  the  case  of 
Henry  Francis  Lyte  (1793-1847)  and 
his  matchless  composition,  "  Abide  with 
Me." 

On  the  eastern  coast  of  Devonshire, 
England,  is  the  ancient  little  seaport 
town  of  Brixham,  built  on  the  sunny 
cliffs  of  Torbay,  with  magnificent  vis- 
tas of  the  English  Channel  widening 
to  the  Atlantic.  Of  its  surroundings, 
the  Rev.  S.  W.  Christophers  has  the 
following  description : 

"  One  finds  here,  within  the  limits  of 
a  few  days'  ramble,  the  richest  inter- 
minglings  of  balmy  air  and  bright  blue 
sea,  of  hill  and  dale,  copsy  knoll  and 
ferny  hollow,  villa-crowned  heights  and 

31 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

cottages  in  dells,  noble  cliffs  and  ter- 
raced gardens,  mountain  paths  and 
quiet  sparkling  beaches,  weedy  rocks 
and  whispering  caverns,  ever-varying, 
ever-harmonising  scenes,  amid  which, 
above,  beneath,  around,  and  everywhere, 
grandeur  is  melting  into  beauty." 

It  was  amid  such  scenes  as  these  that 
"Abide  with  Me"  was  written;  and 
one  will  not  be  surprised  to  learn  that 
only  a  few  miles  away,  in  the  town  of 
Torquay,  where  the  country  and  coast 
are  almost  identical,  Charlotte  Elliott 
gave  to  humanity  another  great  hymn, 
"  Just  As  I  Am." 

The  town  of  Brixham,  though  carry- 
ing on  an  extensive  fishing  and  coast- 
ing trade,  grows  but  little,  and  is  much 
as  it  was  in  1688,  when  William  of 
Orange  landed  there  on  his  first  mem- 
orable visit  to  England.  The  stone  on 
which  he  stepped  is  still  preserved  as 
a  relic  in  an  obelisk  at  the  head  of  the 
quaint  little  pier;    and  it  was  on  this 


ABIDE    WITH    ME 

same  stone  that  William  IV,  a  cen- 
tury and  a  half  later,  also  stepped  when 
paying  a  visit  to  Brixham,  where,  in 
connection  with  other  ceremonies,  he 
was  met  by  Mr.  Lyte  with  a  surpliced 
choir.  It  is  not,  however,  the  visits  of 
these  monarchs  of  the  realm  that  have 
made  Brixham  famous. 

It  seemed  a  singular  chance  that 
placed  this  frail,  sensitive  minister  over 
a  parish  composed  largely  of  hardy 
fisherf oik,  with  here  and  there  a  sprink- 
ling of  more  refined  and  cultured  peo- 
ple. There  were  also  soldiers  in  the 
barracks,  and  visitors  who  came  to 
enjoy  the  salt-water  bathing.  It  was 
evidently  a  place  for  a  great  soul  to 
do  a  noble  mission,  and  Mr.  Lyte  was 
the  Heaven-sent  messenger  who  for 
twenty-five  long  years  knew 

"  Their  lives,  their  hearts, 
Their    thoughts,    their    feelings,    and    their 

dreams. 
Their  joys  and  sorrows,  and  their  smiles  and 

tears." 
8  33 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

All  the  while  he  himself  was  suf- 
fering from  consumption,  which  was 
destined  at  last  to  remove  him  from 
these  scenes  in  which  he  so  faithfully- 
laboured  for  his  beloved  people.  The 
time  came,  while  he  was  still  in  the 
prime  of  life,  when  he  felt  that  his 
work  would  soon  be  over,  and  with  the 
deepest  longings  he  desired  that  he 
might  be  permitted  to  do  something 
which  would  have  its  influence  for  good 
upon  humanity  after  he  had  gone  to 
his  rest.  This  longing  found  expres- 
sion in  the  following  language: 

"  Might  verse  of  mine  inspire 
One  virtuous  aim,  one  high  resolve  impart  — 
Light  in  one  drooping  soul  a  hallowed  fire, 
Or  bind  one  broken  heart  — 

"  Death  would  be  sweeter  then." 

Fortunately,  the  story  of  how  this 
desire  found  such  signal  fulfilment  in 
the  production  of  "  Abide  with  Me," 
has  been  preserved.  Mr.  Lyte  was 
living  at  the  time  in  his  beautiful  home 

34 


ABIDE    WITH    ME 

in  the  Berry  Head  House,  a  gift  from 
William  IV,  who  remembered  with 
pleasure  the  kindly  attention  of  Mr. 
Lyte  during  his  visit  to  Brixham.  In 
the  autumn  of  1847  his  physicians  in- 
formed Mr.  Lyte  that  it  would  be 
necessary  for  him  to  relinquish  his  work 
and  spend  the  winter  in  Italy.  He 
wrote  to  a  friend: 

"  They  tell  me  that  the  sea  is  in- 
jurious to  me.  I  hope  not,  for  I  know 
of  no  divorce  I  should  more  deprecate 
than  from  the  lordly  ocean.  From 
childhood  it  has  been  my  friend  and 
playmate,  and  never  have  I  been  weary 
of  gazing  on  its  glorious  face.  Be- 
sides, if  I  cannot  live  by  the  sea,  adieu 
to  poor  Berry  Head  —  adieu  to  the 
wild  birds,  and  wild  flowers,  and  all  the 
objects  that  have  made  my  old  resi- 
dence attractive." 

To  another  friend  he  wrote :  "  I  am 
meditating  flight  again  to  the  south. 
The  little  familiar  robin  is  every  morn- 

35 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

ing  at  my  window,  sweetly  warning  me 
that  autumnal  hours  are  at  hand.  The 
swallows  are  preparing  for  flight,  and 
inviting  me  to  accompany  them;  and 
yet,  alas!  while  I  talk  of  flying,  I 
can  scarcely  crawl,  and  I  ask  myself 
whether  I  shall  be  able  to  leave  Eng- 
land at  all." 

When  the  last  Sabbath  of  his  stay  in 
England  (September  5,  1847)  arrived, 
he  determined  to  preach  once  more  to 
his  little  flock  and  to  celebrate  with 
them  the  Lord's  Supper.  In  spite  of 
the  protest  of  friends,  he  carried  out 
his  intentions,  although  scarcely  able  to 
stand  in  the  chancel.  In  words  of 
melting  tenderness  he  pleaded  with  his 
people  to  live  holy  lives;  and  when  he 
took  his  leave  of  them  there  was  scarcely 
a  dry  eye  in  the  church. 

The  day  had  been  well-nigh  perfect, 
and  in  the  late  afternoon,  recovering 
somewhat  from  the  strain  of  the  ser- 
vice in  the  church,  he  walked  slowly 

36 


ABIDE    WITH    ME 

and  feebly  down  the  terraced  walk  to 
the  water  he  loved  so  well  and  which 
he  was  about  to  leave  forever.  The 
benediction  of  autumn  rested  upon 
land  and  sea,  and  God's  smile  was 
over  all. 

Above  his  head  the  sun  had  wooed 
the  leaves  into  blushing  splendour,  and 
in  the  darkening  branches  of  the  trees 
song  birds  were  pouring  out  a  perfect 
melody  of  music.  The  great  breast  of 
Torbay,  with  scarcely  a  ripple  to  mar 
its  surface,  thrilled  and  glowed  in  the 
waning  light  of  the  slowly  westering 
sun,  while  Berry  Head  promontory 
east  a  giant  shadow  over  the  nearby 
waters.  Sea  and  sky  were  so  intimately 
blended  that  no  horizon  line  indicated 
where  the  one  began  or  the  other  ended. 
The  spell  of  the  hour  was  upon  the 
saintly  minister.  What  he  felt,  what 
he  suffered,,  in  that  memorable  walk 
alone  beside  the  waters  will  never  be 
known,  but  we  may  be  sure  that  "  com- 

37 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

ing  events  "  had  "  cast  their  shadows 
before  "  and  that  he  well  knew  what 
the  end  was  to  be.  As  the  freshening 
breeze  tossed  the  leaves  about  his  feet 
and  gently  kissed  his  bared  head,  and 
as  the  mists  came  up  out  of  the  sea 
and  the  bright  sunset  colours  faded  into 
the  sober  grays  of  twilight,  he  slowly 
made  his  way  back  to  the  house,  in 
prayerful  silence,  and  went  immedi- 
ately to  his  room.  It  was  in  that  hour 
that  the  great  hymn,  "  Abide  with  Me," 
doubtless  conceived  in  the  walk  by  the 
sea,  had  its  birth.  When  he  joined  his 
family  a  little  later,  he  bore  in  his  hand 
the  words  that  were  destined  to  be  an 
inspiration  to  thousands.  His  prayer 
had  been  answered.  His  last  evening 
in  his  old  home  had  produced  that  which 
will  be  a  blessing  so  long  as  the  heart 
turns  to  its  Maker  for  help  in  times 
of  need. 

The  next  day  Mr.  Lyte  started  for 
the  Riviera,  but  he  was  not  permitted 

38 


X   00 

17 


ABIDE    WITH    ME 

to  reach  it.  When  near  Nice,  France, 
the  frail  sufferer  could  no  longer  with- 
stand the  strain  of  travel;  and  here, 
with  the  Maritime  Alps  towering  above 
him,  and  the  Mediterranean  stretching 
away  before  him,  bathed  in  all  the 
glories  of  perpetual  summer,  the  golden 
bowl  was  broken  and  the  spirit  of  the 
gentle  invalid  returned  unto  God  who 
gave  it.  His  last  words  were,  "  Peace! 
Joy!"  He  died  on  the  20th  of  No- 
vember, 1847,  at  the  age  of  fifty-four, 
less  than  three  months  after  leaving 
England.  His  remains  are  buried  be- 
neath a  simple  cross  in  the  English 
cemetery  in  Nice,  and  his  grave  is  the 
Mecca  of  many  pilgrims. 

"  Abide  with  Me  "  was  the  favourite 
hymn  of  the  Christian  soldier  and  hero, 
Charles  George  Gordon,  better  known 
as  "  Chinese  Gordon,"  one  of  Eng- 
land's best  and  bravest  generals,  —  a 
man  "  who  could  find  the  good  in  all, 
and  was  ever  ready  to  help  all  to  the 

39 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

best  of  his  power."  Doubtless  this 
hymn  was  to  him  a  source  of  comfort 
and  consolation  in  the  many  hours  of 
sore  trial  he  was  called  upon  so  often 
to  face. 

Incidents  of  how  this  hymn  has  been 
helpful  might  be  multiplied,  but  a  few 
must  serve  as  illustrations.  Dr.  Theo- 
dore L.  Cuyler  writes: 

"  During  my  active  pastorate  I  often 
got  better  sermons  from  my  people 
than  I  ever  gave  them.  I  recall  now  a 
most  touching  and  sublime  scene  that  I 
once  witnessed  in  the  death-chamber  of 
a  noble  woman  who  had  suffered  for 
many  months  from  an  excruciating  mal- 
ady. The  end  was  drawing  near.  She 
seemed  to  be  catching  a  foregleam  of 
the  glory  that  awaited  her.  With  trem- 
ulous tones  she  began  to  recite  Henry 
Lyte's  matchless  hymn, '  Abide  with  me : 
fast  falls  the  eventide.'  One  line  after 
another  was  feebly  repeated,  until,  with 
a  rapturous  sweetness,  she  exclaimed: 

40 


ABIDE    WITH    ME 

"  '  Hold  Thou  Thy  cross  before  my  closing 

eyes; 
Shine  through  the  gloom  and  point  me  to 

the  skies: 
Heaven's  morning  breaks,  and  earth's  vain 

shadows  flee: 
In  life,  in  death,  O  Lord,  abide  with  me.' 

"  As  I  came  away  from  that  room 
which  had  been  as  the  vestibule  of 
Heaven,  I  understood  how  the  '  light  of 
eventide  '  could  be  only  a  flashing  forth 
of  the  overwhelming  glory  that  plays 
forever  around  the  throne  of  God." 

"  At  the  Naval  Hospital  at  Norfolk," 
writes  Chaplain  C.  Q.  Wright,  "  dur- 
ing the  war  with  Spain,  when  I  con- 
ducted the  funeral  of  a  poor  lad  who 
died  there,  his  shipmates  stood  round 
the  coffin  and  joined  tearfully  in  the 
hymn,  '  Abide  With  Me.'  " 

Mr.  Charles  M.  Alexander,  the  fa- 
mous singer  who  accompanies  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Reuben  A.  Torrey  on  his  great 
evangehstic  tours,  writes  thus  of  his 
farewell  to  Belfast:  "When  we  came 

41 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

to  the  docks,  we  found  a  great  multi- 
tude lined  up  across  the  custom  house. 
...  As  we  pulled  out,  we  saw  that  the 
whole  dock,  which  is  circular  and  a  mile 
in  length,  was  crowded  with  people  who 
waved  their  handkerchiefs  and  sang 
with  earnest  enthusiasm,  '  Abide  With 
Me.' " 

The  Rev.  William  J.  Hart  writes: 
"  Seven  men  were  buried  beneath  thou- 
sands of  tons  of  rock  which  fell  with- 
out a  moment's  warning  in  a  Cornish 
tin-mine. 

"  Willing  hands  soon  began  the  work 
of  rescue,  though  all  despaired  of  find- 
ing any  one  alive.  Their  worst  fears 
were  not  quite  realized.  One  man  was 
discovered,  and  was  removed  uninjured, 
the  rocks  having  formed  an  arch  over 
him. 

"  After  a  time  the  men  who  were  at 
work,  having  been  greatly  encouraged 
by  finding  one  man  alive,  called  loudly 
to  ascertain  whether  others  were  able 

42 


ABIDE    WITH    ME 

to  speak.  One  man  answered  the  call. 
He  was  an  active  Christian  and  a 
Sunday-school  superintendent. 

"  *  Are  you  alone? '  asked  some  one. 
*  No ;  Christ  is  with  me,'  was  the 
answer. 

"  '  Are  you  injured? '  '  Yes  ' ;  replied 
the  imprisoned  man,  *  my  legs  are  held 
fast  by  something.' 

"  Then  they  could  hear  him  singing 
in  a  feeble  voice: 

"  '  Abide  with  me !    Fast  falls  the  eventide : 
The  darkness  deepens ;  Lord,  with  me  abide ! 
When  other  helpers  fail  and  comforts  flee, 
Help  of  the  helpless,  O  abide  with  me ! ' 

"  They  could  hear  no  more.  Two 
days  later  they  found  him  with  his  legs 
crushed  by  a  huge  rock  which  rested 
upon  them;  but  it  was  known  from  his 
life  and  last  words  that  he  had  gone  to 
be  '  forever  with  the  Lord.' 

"  When  he  was  buried  his  funeral 
was  attended  by  hundreds  of  people. 
According   to   the   local   custom,   they 

43 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

carried  the  casket  through  the  streets 
with  their  hands,  and  on  the  way  to  the 
cemetery  and  also  at  the  graveside  his 
favourite  hymns  were  sung.  All  were 
weeping  as  they  finally  sang  *  Abide 
With  Me,'  the  hymn  which  was  last 
upon  his  lips;  and  doubtless  many  of 
those  present  felt  the  desire  of  their 
own  hearts  expressed,  in  the  words: 

"  '  In  life,  in  death,  O  Lord,  abide  with  me.'  " 

Dr.  Louis  F.  Benson,  in  his  "  Studies 
of  Familiar  Hymns,"  makes  this  in- 
teresting statement:  "It  would  seem 
strange  to  us  if  *  Abide  With  Me  '  were 
omitted  from  the  hymn  books.  But  its 
present  position  was  not  attained  im- 
mediately, either  in  England  or  in  this 
country.  In  1855  Mr.  Beecher,  in  his 
Plymouth  Collection,  put  three  verses 
at  the  service  of  American  Congrega- 
tionahsts.  In  1861  Dr.  Henry  A. 
Boardman,  of  Philadelphia,  in  his  Selec- 
tion,  introduced   the   entire   hymn   to 

44 


ABIDE    WITH    ME 

Presbyterians,  especially  of  his  own 
congregation.  But  he  preceded  it  by 
the  notice:  *[For  reading  only].'  That 
notice  reads  curiously  now.  But  he 
may  have  considered,  as  some  still  con- 
sider, the  hymn  too  personal  and  in- 
tense for  congregational  use;  or  more 
likely,  he  knew  of  no  tune  that  would 
carry  the  long  lines.  Indeed,  the  actual 
use  of  the  hymn  dates  from  the  pub- 
lication, that  same  year,  of  the  now 
familiar  tune  in  Hymns  Ancient  and 
Modern,  After  one  of  the  meetings 
of  the  committee  which  compiled  that 
book,  it  was  suddenly  remembered  that 
there  was  no  tune  for  Hymn  27, 
*  Abide  With  Me ' ;  whereupon  Dr. 
Monk,  the  musical  editor  (so  he  told 
a  friend)  sat  down  and  composed  in 
ten  minutes  the  tune  that  has  carried 
Hymn  27  to  the  ends  of  the  earth." 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  an 
effort  is  being  made  to  rebuild  the 
church  at  Lower  Brixham  as  a  memo- 

45 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

rial  to  Mr.  Lyte.  The  present  build- 
ing, which  is  most  unsightly  and 
dilapidated,  was  erected  early  in  the 
last  century,  and  is  utterly  unsuited 
for  its  present  uses,  "  the  pews  being 
so  narrow  that  it  is,  in  the  greater  part 
of  the  church,  inconvenient  to  sit,  diffi- 
cult to  stand,  and  impossible  to  kneel." 


46 


Ill 

JUST  AS   I   AM 


STusit  a£(  ^  am,  b)ttf)out  one  plea 
JHut  ti)at  Cbp  bloob  ttias;  2;f)eb  for  me, 
^nb  tftat  Cftou  bib^sit  me  come  to  i;tee, 
0  Hamh  of  <^ob,  ^  come. 

3ru£it  ai  1&  am,  anb  toattms  not 
^ty  rib  mp  goul  of  one  bark  tilot, 
t!Do  tlTbee,  tt)i)ois(e  bloob  can  cleansie  eacb  fi(pot, 
(0  Hamb  of  <§ob,  S  come. 

STuiSt  a£(  3J  am,  tfjouglj  tos(geb  aftout 
OTitj)  man?  a  conflict,  man?  a  boubt, 
Jf ist)tins£(  anb  fears(,  tt)it{)in,  toittout, 
0  Hamb  of  <§ob,  1&  come. 

ITusit  asf  3  am,  poor,  toretclieb,  blinb; 
^istlt,  rtctesi,  dealing:  of  tf)e  minb, 
gea,  all  3  neeb,  in  tlTijee  to  f  inb. 
0  Xamb  of  <§ob,  IS  come. 

STusit  a2(  3  am !    Cjjou  toilt  receibe, 
l^ilt  toelcome,  parbon,  cleanse,  reliebe ; 
JHecausie  tlTtjp  promisee  31  beliebe, 
0  Hamb  of  <§ob,  3  come. 

3rus(t  ajf  3f  am !    t!rf)j>  lobe  unfenoton 
J^as;  broken  eberp  barrier  boton ; 
i^ottj,  to  be  tKjjine,  pea,  tlTfjine  alone, 
#  Hamb  of  (§ob,  3f  come. 

4 


JUST   AS    I   AM 


EAN  SWIFT  writes  in 
his  Voyage  to  Brohdig- 
nag:  "  He  gave  it  for 
his  opinion  that  whoever 
could  make  two  ears  of 
corn  or  two  blades  of  grass  to  grow 
upon  a  spot  of  ground  where  only  one 
grew  before  would  deserve  better  of 
mankind,  and  do  more  essential  service 
to  his  country,  than  the  whole  race  of 
politicians  put  together." 

Whether  this  be  true  or  not  of  the 
vegetable  and  political  world,  no  one 
will  question  the  value  of  the  service 
rendered  to  the  moral  and  social  world 
by  him  who  implants  in  human  hearts 
aspirations  and  longings  that  lead  to 
genuine  reformation  of  character.  Such 
service  is  sure  of  a  blessing  here,  and 
is  promised  a  glorious  reward  here- 
after, for  the  Bible  assures  us  that, 
"  They  that  turn  many  to  righteous- 

51 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

ness  shall  shine  as  the  stars  for  ever 
and  ever." 

Evangelistic  hymns  are  important 
factors  in  helping  men  to  realize  their 
sinful  condition.  It  was  the  privilege 
of  Charlotte  Elliott  to  write  "  Just  As 
I  Am,"  the  greatest  of  evangelistic 
compositions,  and  one  which,  above  all 
others,  has  been  successful  in  convict- 
ing men  of  sin  and  giving  them  a  sense 
of  their  need  of  Christ.  The  opinion 
of  Dwight  L.  Moody  is  shared  by  thou- 
sands: "  It  has  done  the  most  good  to 
the  greatest  number,  and  has  touched 
more  lives  helpfully  than  any  other 
hymn."  The  Rev.  David  R.  Breed, 
D.D.,  says  of  this  composition:  "The 
rhythm  is  perfect,  the  poetical  elements 
genuine,  and  the  lyrical  qualities  un- 
surpassed; "  while  a  brother  of  Miss 
Elliott,  a  minister,  modestly,  but  doubt- 
less truthfully,  stated :  "  In  the  course 
of  a  long  ministry  I  hope  I  have  been 
permitted   to    see    some    fruit   of   my 

52 


JUST    AS    I    AM 

labours,  but  I  feel  that  far  more  has 
been  done  by  this  single  hymn  of  my 
sister." 

Charlotte  Elliott  was  born  in  Brigh- 
ton, England,  March  18,  1789,  and 
died  September  22,  1871,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-two.  She  came  of  a  cultured 
family  and  was  herself  highly  edu- 
cated. Two  of  her  brothers  were  min- 
isters. At  the  age  of  thirty-two  she 
became  a  confirmed  invalid,  the  result 
of  a  severe  illness,  yet  she  lived  a  half 
century  longer,  and  saw  all  the  com- 
panions of  her  youth  pass  to  the  grave. 
In  the  earlier  stages  of  her  invalidism 
it  was  her  good  fortune  to  meet  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Csesar  Malan,  the  gifted 
Swiss  preacher,  who  was  two  years  her 
senior.  He  was  a  man  of  striking 
appearance  and  of  many  accomplish- 
ments. He  was  converted  in  1817,  at 
the  age  of  thirty-two,  and  five  years 
later  made  a  brief  visit  to  the  home 
of  Miss  Elliott.     Dr.  C.  S.  Robinson 

53 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

tells  a  very  important  incident  of  this 
visit : 

"  One  evening,  as  they  sat  convers- 
ing, he  asked  her  if  she  thought  herself 
to  be  an  experimental  Christian.  Her 
health  was  then  failing  rapidly,  and  she 
was  harassed  often  with  pain.  The 
question  made  her  petulant  for  a  mo- 
ment. She  resented  his  searching  ques- 
tion, and  told  him  that  religion  was  a 
matter  which  she  did  not  wish  to  dis- 
cuss. Dr.  Malan  replied,  with  his 
usual  sweetness  of  manner,  that  he 
would  not  pursue  the  subject  if  it 
displeased  her,  but  he  would  pray  that 
she  might  give  her  heart  to  Christ, 
and  become  a  useful  worker  for  Him. 
Several  days  afterward  the  young  lady 
apologised  for  her  abrupt  treatment  of 
the  minister,  and  confessed  that  his 
question  and  his  parting  remark  had 
troubled  her.  '  But  I  do  not  know  how 
to  find  Christ,'  she  said;  *I  want  you 
to  help  me.' 

54 


TV 


COME  TO  HIM  jusi   AS  YOU  are/^ — Page  55. 


JUST    AS    I    AM 

"  '  Come  to  Him  just  as  you  are,'  said 
Dr.  Malan.  He  little  thought  that  one 
day  that  simple  reply  would  be  repeated 
in  song  by  the  whole  Christian  world." 

Just  when  the  hymn  was  written 
is  not  known,  but  it  first  appeared 
anonymously  in  The  Yearly  Remem- 
brancer, in  1836.  Dr.  Robinson  states: 
"  Beginning  thus  its  public  history  in 
the  columns  of  an  unpretending  mag- 
azine, the  little  anonymous  hymn,  with 
its  sweet  counsel  to  troubled  minds, 
found  its  way  into  scrap-books,  then 
into  religious  circles  and  chapel  assem- 
blies, and  finally  into  the  hymnals  of 
the  *  Church  Universal.'  Some  time 
after  its  publication  a  philanthropic 
lady,  impressed  by  its  beauty  and  spir- 
itual value,  had  it  printed  on  a  leaflet 
and  sent  for  circulation  through  the 
cities  and  towns  of  the  kingdom;  and, 
in  connection  with  this,  an  incident  at 
an  English  watering-place  seems  to 
have  first  revealed  its  authorship  to  the 

55 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

world.  Miss  Elliott,  being  in  feeble 
health,  was  staying  in  Torquay,  in 
Devonshire,  under  the  care  of  an  emi- 
nent physician.  One  day  the  doctor, 
an  earnest,  Christian  man,  placed  one 
of  those  floating  leaflets  in  his  patient's 
hands,  saying  he  felt  sure  she  would 
like  it.  The  surprise  and  pleasure  were 
mutual  when  she  recognised  her  own 
hymn,  and  he  discovered  that  she  was 
its  author." 

Francis  A.  Jones  gives  another  ver- 
sion of  the  origin  of  the  hymn,  which 
was  furnished  to  him  by  a  niece  of  the 
author:  "In  1834  Miss  Elliott  was 
residing  at  Brighton,  in  a  house  long 
since  pulled  down,  called  Westfield 
Lodge.  Her  brother,  the  Rev.  H.  V. 
Elliott,  having  conceived  the  plan  of 
erecting  a  college  at  Brighton  for  the 
education  of  the  daughters  of  the  poorer 
clergy,  a  bazaar  was  held  in  order  to 
assist  in  raising  the  necessary  money. 
All  the  members  of  Westfield  Lodge 

56 


JUST    AS    I    AM 

were  busy  —  all  except  Charlotte,  who 
was  weak  and  ill.  The  night  before 
the  bazaar  she  lay  tossing  on  her  bed, 
consumed  with  the  thought  of  her  ap- 
parent uselessness.  The  day  of  the 
bazaar  came,  and  Charlotte  continued 
in  deep  thought  long  after  every  one 
had  gone;  then  came  a  feeling  of  peace 
and  contentment.  Taking  a  sheet  of 
paper  from  the  table  beside  her,  she 
wrote,  without  any  apparent  effort,  the 
verses  by  which  her  name  is  now  held 
most  dear." 

Manj^  tender  stories  have  been  nar- 
rated in  connection  with  the  power  of 
this  remarkable  hymn  in  the  sick-room, 
in  evangelistic  services,  and  on  the  bat- 
tle plain.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  A. 
Nelson  has  contributed  the  two  follow- 
ing incidents: 

"  I  was  once  requested  to  call  upon 
a  man  who  was  in  an  advanced  stage 
of  pulmonary  consumption.  He  had 
had  a  wild   career,   and  now  he   was 

57 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

paying  the  penalty  by  giving  up  his 
hfe  when  it  should  have  been  at  the 
flood-tide  of  its  power.  At  first,  he 
was  indifferent  to  spiritual  matters,  but 
subsequently  he  became  a  sincere  and 
anxious  seeker  after  salvation.  Calling 
on  him  one  morning  I  gave  him  a  copy 
of  *Just  As  I  Am,'  and  asked  him  to 
give  that  day  to  its  study  in  just  the 
same  way  that  he  would  study  a  con- 
tract or  bond  involving  important  busi- 
ness, and  then  to  make  up  his  mind 
whether  he  would  assent  to  its  declara- 
tions; if  so,  to  write  his  name  at  the 
bottom.  I  promised  that  I  would  call 
again  in  the  evening  to  learn  his  deci- 
sion. I  did  so,  and  as  I  stood  by  his 
bedside  he  handed  to  me,  with  a  smile 
of  rare  winsomeness  and  peace,  the 
paper  on  which  the  hymn  was  printed, 
and  there,  with  great  joy,  I  read  his 
name.  The  few  weeks  that  remained 
to  him  gave  many  beautiful  and  touch- 
ing evidences  that  on  that  day  he  had 


JUST    AS    I    AM 


found,  through  the  study  of  a  hymn, 
*  the  peace  that  passeth  understanding.' 
"  A  respected  merchant  was  a  regu- 
lar attendant  upon  our  church  services, 
although  not  a  member.  At  an  evening 
meeting,  when  he  was  present,  I  made 
an  affectionate  plea  for  better  and 
truer  living  on  the  part  of  the  congre- 
gation, and  then  announced  that  we 
would  sing  '  Just  As  I  Am.'  I  asked 
that  as  we  sang  we  should  consider 
carefully  what  each  verse  really  meant, 
and  whether  we  could  sing  it  as  repre- 
senting the  sincere  expression  of  our 
hearts.  When  we  reached  the  last 
stanza,  I  said:  '  Let  all  of  us  who  really 
and  honestly  feel  that  this  hymn  ex- 
presses our  own  heart  longings  sing  the 
last  verse  standing.'  To  my  unspeaka- 
ble joy,  the  merchant  arose  with  the 
others.  He  left  the  room  at  the  close 
before  I  could  speak  to  him.  In  my 
waking  moments  that  night  I  feared 
that  my   friend  had  risen  under   the 


59 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

pressure  of  the  thought  that  remaining 
seated  while  all  about  him  stood  would 
have  made  him  uncomfortably  conspic- 
uous, and  that  he  might  possibly  feel 
that  he  had  been  improperly  placed  in 
a  false  position.  I  went  to  his  home 
early  the  next  morning,  in  order  to 
learn  from  his  wife,  who  was  not  at 
the  meeting  the  night  before,  what  he 
might  have  told  her.  I  found  her  very 
happy,  and  she  said :  '  I  was  sitting 
alone  when  my  husband  entered.  He 
was  singing  "Just  As  I  Am,"  and  when 
he  reached  my  side,  he  said,  with  deep 
emotion,  "  That  hymn  brought  me  to 
Christ  to-night."  '  " 

The  Rev.  W.  P.  Miller,  D.D.,  in  a 
letter  narrates  the  following:  "One 
night,  in  a  mission  in  the  lowest  portion 
of  the  city,  I  was  pleading  with  a  poor 
fellow  whose  presence  for  two  or  three 
nights  in  succession  indicated  that  he 
was  spiritually  interested.  I  soon  dis- 
covered that  he  was  under  deep  con- 

60 


JUST    AS    I    AM 

viction  of  sin,  but  I  exhausted  my 
resources  in  a  vain  effort  to  bring  him 
to  a  decision,  and  was  on  the  point  of 
giving  up  in  despair  when  the  singers 
began  the  grand  old  hymn,  *  Just  As 
I  Am.'  I  sat  with  my  hand  on  his 
shoulder,  and  as  they  sang  I  just  re- 
peated the  words  with  the  singers,  look- 
ing him  in  the  face  and  at  every  pause 
in  the  music  interjecting  a  petition  for 
his  salvation.  The  hymn  was  not  fin- 
ished before  the  light  came,  and  he 
cried  out,  with  a  voice  full  of  joy: 

"  <  To  Thee,  whose  blood  can   cleanse  each 
spot, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come.'  " 

"That  hymn,"  said  Bishop  Charles 
P.  Mcllvaine,  of  Ohio,  who  died  in 
Florence,  Italy,  in  1873,  "  contains  my 
rehgion,  my  theology,  my  hope.  When 
I  am  gone,  I  wish  to  be  remembered  in 
association  with  it." 

When  the  Rev.  Joseph  Peat,  of 
England,  a  faithful  missionary  who  had 

61 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

given  thirty  years  to  the  work  in  India, 
was  dying,  representatives  from  many 
congregations  gathered  about  his  bed- 
side to  express  their  gratitude  for  his 
devotion  to  their  spiritual  interests. 
After  giving  loving  admonitions  to 
eight  native  ministers  who  had  been 
trained  for  their  work  almost  altogether 
by  him,  he  quietly  said,  "  Now  repeat 
my  favoilrite  hymn,  *  Just  As  I  Am,'  " 
and  soon  after  he  was  gone  to  hear  the 
"  Well  done  "  of  the  Master. 

"  I  well  remember  a  revival  meeting 
in  Kilmarnock  forty  years  ago,"  says 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Robert  Craig,  of  Edin- 
burgh, Scotland,  "  in  which  there  was 
deep  feeling  manifested..  A  young 
man,  whom  I  had  tried  to  lead  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth,  was  sitting 
behind  me,  and  when  he  smilingly 
handed  to  me  his  hymn-book,  with  his 
finger  pointing  to  the  words  *  Just  as 
I  am,  and  waiting  not,  .  .  .  O  Lamb 
of  God,  I  come,'   I  shared  with  him 

62 


JUST    AS    I    AM 


the  joy  of  his  decision  for  Christ,  with- 
out a  word  being  spoken  between  us. 
He  continues  faithful  to  this  day." 

Dr.  Samuel  W.  Boardman,  Presi- 
dent of  Maryville  College,  Tennessee, 
writes:  "A  student  of  Maryville,  the 
son  of  a  prominent  minister,  a  descend- 
ant of  John  Alden,  of  Plymouth  Rock 
memory,  had  long  been  wayward.  At 
length,  he  came  under  the  most  power- 
ful conviction  of  sin,  and  his  soul  found 
peace  in  Christ.  He  was  a  superb 
singer  and  had  an  admirably  trained 
voice.  Not  long  after  his  conversion, 
he  stood  before  a  large  audience,  and 
many  were  moved  to  tears  to  hear  him 
sing  softly,  in  the  most  heartfelt  and 
touching  way,  '  Just  As  I  Am.'  " 

"Just  As  I  Am"  was  used  fre- 
quently by  a  prominent  singer  in  the 
Bowery  Mission,  New  York.  A  well- 
known  Bowery  man,  who  often  at- 
tended the  meetings,  presented  the 
singer  with  a  cane  one  morning,  and 

63 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

said,  with  tears  in  his  eyes  and  with 
the  deepest  emotion,  "  Keep  on  singing 
that  hymn;  I  beheve  that  it  will  yet 
prove  my  salvation." 

"  Some  years  ago,"  writes  the  Rev. 
William  N.  Yates,  D.D.,  "  at  the  close 
of  an  evangelistic  service,  I  was  called 
into  the  inquiry  room,  to  find  several 
persons  very  anxious  about  their  spirit- 
ual condition.  Many  pastors  will  un- 
derstand me  when  I  say  that  two  of 
these  were  in  that  condition  when  they 
simply  needed  guidance  in  expression. 
I  took  these  two  aside  and  began  slowly 
and  softly  to  sing  '  Just  As  I  Am.'  I 
saw  by  their  faces  that  the  hymn  per- 
fectly expressed  their  burden  and  their 
desire;  and  when  I  sang  the  stanza, 

** '  Just  as  I  am.  Thou  wilt  receive. 

Wilt  welcome,  pardon,  cleanse,  relieve; 
Because  Thy  promise  I  believe, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come.' 

a  change  came  over  their  troubled 
spirit  as  great  as  was  experienced  by 

64 


JUST    AS    I    AM 

the  Sea  of  Galilee  when  the  Master 
said,  'Peace,  be  still!'  They  had 
found  their  Saviour." 

The  Rev.  Dr.  E.  Milton  Page  says: 
"  In  my  ministry  of  eleven  years  I  have 
received  into  the  church  membership 
about  twelve  hundred  people.  It  has 
been  a  rule  with  me  to  have  the  con- 
gregation sing  '  Just  As  I  Am '  just 
before  I  ask  those  who  would  accept 
Christ  pubhcly  to  acknowledge  Him. 
I  think  I  am  safe  in  saying  that  more 
than  half  of  the  twelve  hundred  took 
the  decisive  step  under  the  spiritual 
influence  of  this  hymn." 

"  I  have  been  in  the  ministry  for 
twenty-four  years,"  writes  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Charles  M.  Boswell,  "  and  during 
that  time  have  seen  hundreds  converted, 
but  the  hymn  which  has  been  the  most 
useful  in  enabling  men  to  reach  a  de- 
cision has  been  'Just  As  I  Am.'  I 
consider  it  invaluable  in  persuading 
men  to  yield  to  God." 

6  65 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

S.  H.  Hadley,  Superintendent  of  the 
McAuley  Mission,  New  York,  where 
such  blessed  work  has  been  done  for  the 
reformation  of  all  classes  of  men,  says: 
"  '  Just  As  I  Am '  has  been  sung  as  an 
invitation  call  in  the  old  Jerry  Mc- 
Auley Water  Street  Mission  almost 
every  night  for  years.  How  many 
times  I  have  seen  from  twenty-five  to 
forty-five  outcasts  make  their  way  to 
the  mercy-seat  under  the  spiritual  im- 
pulse awakened  by  that  blessed  hymn. 
How  I  wish  I  could  describe  the  scene 
when  men  of  every  description,  cleansed 
by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  have  gone 
forth  to  become  splendid  and  useful 
men  of  God  —  and  all  because  they 
were  wilhng  to  come  to  Him  *  just  as 
they  were.'  " 

Dr.  H.  Clay  Trumbull,  in  his  book 
on  Individual  Work  for  Individuals, 
tells  this  interesting  incident: 

"  I  was  in  the  habit  of  inviting  sol- 
diers to  come  to  my  tent,  or  other  quar- 

66 


JUST    AS    I    AM 

ters,  to  talk  with  me  of  personal  reli- 
gion. Sometimes  they  seemed  to  gain 
a  little  help  by  such  conversation.  At 
other  times  a  few  words  were  evidently 
sufficient  for  their  needs.  One  young 
soldier  from  an  adjoining  regiment 
came  in  anxiety  as  to  his  spiritual  con- 
dition. I  tried  to  make  his  duty  and 
his  privilege  plain,  but  I  did  not  seem 
to  succeed.  I  prayed  with  and  for  him, 
but  he  did  not  find  peace.  He  said 
that  he  must  now  return  to  his  regi- 
ment, but  he  would  come  to  see  me 
again. 

"As  he  went  out,  I  handed  him  a 
copy  of  a  little  Soldier's  Hymn-book, 
which  was  the  only  reading  matter  I 
had  for  distribution.  When  I  met  him 
again,  his  face  was  bright  with  the 
cheerfulness  of  a  glad  hope.  As  I 
asked  him  about  himself,  he  rephed: 

"  *  You  tried  to  make  it  plain  to  me, 
Chaplain,  but  I  didn't  get  any  help. 
But,  as  I  came  away  from  your  quar- 

67 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

ters,  I  opened  that  little  hymn-book, 
and  I  read: 

" '  "  Just  as  I  am,  and  waiting  not 
To  rid  myself  of  one  dark  blot, 
To  Thee,  whose  blood  can  cleanse  each 
spot, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come!"' 

and  then  it  was  all  clear  to  me." 

"  During  the  twenty-five  years  I  was 
a  pastor,"  says  the  Rev.  Wilbur  F. 
Crafts,  Ph.D.,  "  I  found  nothing  so 
effective  in  bringing  thoughtful  people 
to  the  act  of  decision  as  the  hymn  '  Just 
As  I  Am '  sung  softly  when  the  invi- 
tation to  begin  a  Christian  life  had  been 
given  at  the  close  of  an  earnest  sermon. 
This  direct  and  open  confession  seems 
to  be  the  very  thing  to  sweep  away  all 
excuses.  Thousands  of  people  have 
opened  their  hearts  to  welcome  the 
Christian  life  during  the  singing  of 
this  soul-stirring  hymn." 

Amos  R.  Wells  relates  this  interest- 
ing incident:  ''Once  John  B.  Gough, 

68 


JUST    AS    I    AM 

the  famous  temperance  lecturer,  found 
himself  in  a  pew  with  a  man  who 
seemed  so  repulsive  that  he  moved  to 
the  farther  end  of  the  seat.  The  con- 
gregation began  to  sing  '  Just  As  I 
Am,'  and  the  man  joined  in  so  heartily 
Mr.  Gough  decided  that  perhaps  he 
was  not  so  disagreeable  after  all,  and 
moved  up  nearer.  At  the  end  of  the 
third  stanza,  while  the  organist  was 
playing  the  interlude,  the  man  leaned 
toward  Mr.  Gough  and  whispered, 
*  Will  you  please  give  me  the  first  line 
of  the  next  verse? '  And  when  he  heard 
the  words, 

"  *  Just  as  I  am,  poor,  wretched,  blind,' 

the  man  exclaimed,  '  That 's  it,  and  I 
am  blind  —  God  help  me,  and  I  am  a 
paralytic'  Then  as  he  tried  with  his 
poor,  twitching  lips  to  make  music  of 
the  glorious  words,  Mr.  Gough  thought 
that  never  in  his  life  had  he  heard  a 
Beethoven    symphony    with    as    much 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

music  in  it  as  the  blundering  singing 
of  that  hymn  by  the  poor  paralytic." 

After  the  death  of  Miss  Elliott,  above 
a  thousand  letters  were  found  among 
her  papers  thanking  her  personally  for 
the  great  blessings  which  had  come  to 
the  lives  of  the  writers  through  the 
instrumentality  of  "  Just  As  I  Am." 


TO 


IV 

MY  FAITH   LOOKS   UP  TO 
THEE 


^V  faitf)  loofes(  up  to  W^tt, 
tKfjou  Hamb  of  Calbarp, 

^abtout  Bibine : 
i^oto  bear  me  tofjile  31  prap, 
tlTafee  all  mv  guilt  abiap, 
d^  let  me  from  iW  bap 

5ie  tot)ollj>  Cbine. 

iWap  Cbp  ricb  grace  impart 
^trenstb  to  mp  fainting  fjeart, 

Mv  }ta\  inspire ; 
^s(  t!r{)ou  b^^t  \s\t\s  for  me» 
<!^  map  mp  lobe  to  ^bee 
$ure»  toarm,  anb  ctangelesfsf  be, 

JS  libing  fire. 

OTibile  life'fli  barfe  maje  3  treab, 
^nb  grief  Si  arounb  me  sipreab, 

ilie  tirtoumpi^uibe; 
W^  barfenesijJ  turn  to  bap, 
Wim  s;orrob)'s(  tears;  abiap, 
igor  let  me  eber  jstrap 

Jf  rom  Cbee  asiibe. 

OTben  enbsi  life*£{  transient  bream, 
12aben  beatb'sf  colb,  sullen  stream 

^ball  o*er  me  roU, 
Jilest  ^abiour,  tf)en,  in  lobe, 
jFear  anb  bistrust  remobe ; 
0  bear  me  safe  abobe, 

^  ransomeb  soul 


MY   FAITH   LOOKS   UP 
TO    THEE 


HEN  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Ray 
Palmer  celebrated  their 
golden  wedding  anniver- 
sary, in  1882,  one  of  the 
speakers,  the  gifted  Dr. 
;  Richard  S.  Storrs,  paid  this  tribute  to 
Dr.  Palmer,  the  author  of  "  My  Faith 
Looks  Up  to  Thee": 

"  The  grandest  privilege  which  God 
ever  gives  to  His  children  upon  earth, 
and  which  He  gives  to  comparatively 
few,  is  to  write  a  noble  Christian  hymn, 
to  be  accepted  by  the  churches,  to  be 
sung  by  reverent  and  loving  hearts  in 
different  lands  and  different  tongues, 
and  which  still  shall  be  sung  as  the 
future  opens  its  brightening  centuries. 
Such  a  hymn  brings  him  to  whom  it 
is  given  into  most  intimate  sympathy 
with  the  Master,  and  with  the  most 
devout  spirits  of  every  time." 

75 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Dr.  Palmer  was  born  in  Little  Comp- 
ton,  Rhode  Island,  November  12,  1808, 
of  Pilgrim  stock.  He  was  licensed  to 
preach  in  1832,  and  in  1835  became 
pastor  of  a  Congregational  church  in 
Bath,  Maine,  where  he  remained  for 
fifteen  years.  In  1847  he  spent  some 
time  in  foreign  travel.  Soon  after  his 
return,  in  1850,  he  became  pastor  of 
the  First  Congregational  Church,  in 
Albany,  New  York.  He  left  this 
charge  in  1866  to  become  Correspond- 
ing Secretary  of  the  American  Con- 
gregational Union,  New  York  City, 
where  he  remained  until  1878,  when 
failing  health  compelled  him  to  resign. 
His  latter  years  were  spent  in  literary 
and  general  pastoral  work  in  and  about 
Newark,  New  Jersey,  where  he  died 
March  29,  1887. 

He  was  an  able  preacher,  a  volumin- 
ous writer,  and  a  graceful  poet;  and 
Mark  Hopkins  pronounced  him  one  of 
the  best-read  men  of  his  time  in  philos- 

76 


MY    FAITH    LOOKS    UP    TO    THEE 

ophy  and  moral  science.  The  hymn 
which  made  him  famous,  "My  Faith 
Looks  Up  to  Thee,"  has  had  a  wonder- 
ful history.  Dr.  Charles  Ray  Palmer, 
of  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  son  of  Dr. 
Palmer,  writes :  "  Hardly  a  hymnal  of 
the  English-speaking  people  —  except 
one  or  two  recent  extremely  sectarian 
ones  —  is  without  it.  It  has  been 
translated  into  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew, 
Arabic,  Chinese,  several  languages  of 
the  Turkish  Empire,  several  of  India, 
of  Africa,  and  of  the  islands  of  the 
Pacific,  and  into  some  of  those  of  mod- 
ern Europe." 

The  following  very  interesting  story 
is  told  in  connection  with  one  of  these 
translations : 

"  Mrs.  Layyah  Barakat,  a  native  of 
Syria,  was  educated  in  Beirut  and  then 
taught  for  a  time  in  Egypt.  Driven 
out  in  1882  by  the  insurrection  of 
Arabi  Pasha,  she,  with  her  husband  and 
child,    came   to   America   by    way    of 

7T 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Malta  and  Marseilles.  Her  history  is 
a  strange  illustration  of  God's  provi- 
dential care,  as  they  were  without  any 
direction  or  friends  in  Philadelphia 
when  they  landed.  But  the  Lord  took 
them  into  His  own  keeping,  and 
brought  them  to  those  who  had  known 
of  her  in  Syria.  While  in  this  country 
she  frequently  addressed  large  audi- 
ences, to  whom  her  deep  earnestness 
and  broken  but  piquant  English  proved 
unusually  attractive.  Among  other  in- 
cidents she  related  that  she  had  been 
permitted  to  see  the  conversion  of  her 
whole  family,  who  were  Maronites  of 
Mount  Lebanon.  Her  mother,  sixty- 
two  years  of  age,  had  been  taught  *  My 
Faith  Looks  Up  to  Thee '  in  Arabic. 
They  would  sit  on  the  house  roof  and 
repeat  it  together;  and  when  the  news 
came  back  to  Syria  that  the  daughter 
was  safe  in  America,  the  mother  could 
send  her  no  better  proof  of  her  faith 
and  love  than  in  the  beautiful  words 

78 


MY    FAITH    LOOKS    UP    TO    THEE 

of  this  hymn,  assuring  her  that  her 
faith  still  looked  up  to  Christ." 

In  one  of  the  letters  published  in 
the  Life  of  Henry  Martyn,  that  de- 
voted missionary  said  that  to  him  "  the 
conversion  of  a  Mahommedan  to  Chris- 
tianity would  be  as  great  a  miracle  as 
any  one  ever  recorded."  A  number  of 
years  ago  Dr.  Henry  Jessup,  writing 
from  Syria,  said,  "  Tell  Dr.  Palmer 
that  as  I  write,  I  hear  a  hundred  and 
twenty  Mahommedan  girls  singing  in 
their  own  language,  '  My  Faith  Looks 
Up  to  Thee.' " 

"  All  the  hymns  on  your  list,"  writes 
Dr.  Sheldon  Jackson,  General  Agent 
of  Education  in  Alaska,  "are  choice 
ones,  and  have  accomplished  a  great 
work  in  this  and  other  lands  in  estab- 
lishing and  building  up  Christian  char- 
acter. For  my  own  personal  comfort, 
I  have  found  that  *  My  Faith  Looks 
Up  to  Thee '  has  given  me  the  most  of 
spiritual  help  and  strength."  Doubtless 

79 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

this  voices  the  sentiment  of  thousands 
of  hearts  which  have  been  hfted  up 
and  made  better  by  means  of  the  splen- 
did declaration  of  trust  and  confidence 
in  God  as  expressed  in  the  words  of 
this  immortal  hjnnn. 

"  '  My  Faith  Looks  Up  to  Thee,'  " 
says  the  Rev.  Albert  B.  Marshall,  D.D., 
"  is  my  favourite  among  all  hymns.  It 
is,  I  am  sure,  the  hymn  which  most 
accurately  expresses  the  aspirations  of 
many  trusting  hearts.  I  have  fre- 
quently noticed  how  eagerly  a  company 
of  worshippers  will  join  in  the  sing- 
ing if  some  one  will  begin."  And  Dr. 
E.  O.  Sutherland  bears  the  same  testi- 
mony: "  I  find,"  he  says,  "  '  My  Faith 
Looks  Up  to  Thee '  one  of  the  most 
useful  hymns  for  impromptu  singing 
in  all  kinds  of  prayer-meetings;  espe- 
cially, however,  where  there  is  sorrow 
or  trouble." 

"  While  spending  a  few  days  in  the 
Grand  Hotel  Magenta,  Paris,  France," 

80 


MY    FAITH    LOOKS    UP    TO    THEE 

writes  the  Rev.  Curtis  Edward  Long, 

"  I  became  quite  ill,  and  being  among 

strangers  and  in  the  solitude  of  my  own 

room,  I  was  much  depressed  in  spirit. 

I    sought    comfort    on    my    knees    in 

prayer,    and   found   myself   repeating 

the  second  verse  of  '  My  Faith  Looks 

Up  to  Thee': 

"  '  May  Thy  rich  grace  impart 
Strength  to  my  fainting  heart.' 

My  prayer  was  answered,  I  was  re- 
stored in  body  and  spirit,  and  on  the 
following  day  took  the  train  for 
Rome." 

Evangehst  C.  T.  Shaeffer  relates 
this  interesting  incident:  "  Some  years 
ago  there  came  to  this  country  a  little 
clog  dancer,  widely  known  as  Mike 
Riley,  the  champion  of  the  world.  Al- 
though educated  only  in  his  heels,  yet 
he  was  able  to  command  a  large  salary, 
but  finally  drink  took  possession  of  him 
and  he  became  an  outcast  and  a  vaga- 
bond along  the  Bowery. 

6  81 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

"  One  cold  winter's  night,  homeless, 
hungry,  and  forsaken,  he  determined  to 
end  his  miserable  life  in  the  river.  On 
his  way  down,  he  passed  the  Bowery 
Mission.  The  door  happened  to  stand 
open  for  a  moment,  and  the  light  and 
cheer  had  their  powerful  appeal  for  the 
desolate  little  dancer.  He  was  drawn 
inside,  *  just  to  get  warm  once  more 
before  ending  it  all  in  the  river,'  he 
afterward  said.  '  My  Faith  Looks  Up 
to  Thee '  was  being  sung  by  scores  of 
redeemed  men,  and  by  others  who  were 
seeking  salvation,  and  the  words  had 
their  special  message  of  hope  for  the 
wanderer.  When  the  usual  invitation 
was  given,  he  went  forward  and  sur- 
rendered himself  to  his  Master.  He 
immediately  started  out  to  win  fallen 
men  from  their  sin,  and  so  continued 
heroically  until  his  death." 

"On  one  occasion,"  says  Rev.  Charles 
Eugene  Dunn,  "  the  senior  class  of 
Union  Theological  Seminary  spent  the 


MY    FAITH    LOOKS    UP    TO    THEE 

afternoon  as  the  invited  guests  of  Mr. 
John  Crosby  Brown,  Orange  Moun- 
tain, New  Jersey.  Dr.  Palmer  was 
also  a  guest,  and  while  we  stood  in  the 
parlor,  a  sudden  inspiration  moved  us 
to  sing  his  great  hymn,  *  My  Faith 
Looks  Up  to  Thee.'  When  we  began, 
the  president  of  our  seminary.  Dr. 
Roswell  D.  Hitchcock,  advanced  to 
Dr.  Palmer,  and  the  two  stood,  with 
arms  interlocked,  while  this  greatest  of 
American  hymns  was  being  sung  in  the 
presence  of  its  author.  It  meant  but 
little  to  the  outside  world,  perhaps,  but 
to  us  it  was  a  deeply  affecting  sight 
to  see  these  two  noble  men  —  the  great 
author  and  the  great  historian,  both  so 
soon  to  behold  the  Lamb  of  Calvary 
in  His  beauty  —  thus  standing  clasped 
in  brotherly  embrace." 

Many  will  recall  the  thrilling  experi- 
ence of  the  passengers  on  the  German 
steamship  "  Spree,"  in  December,  1882. 
During  a  fearful  storm  the  propeller 

83 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

broke,  knocking  a  large  hole  through 
her  bottom  and  leaving  her  helpless. 
She  was  not  only  in  danger  of  sinking, 
but  she  was  also  rapidly  driven  out  of 
her  course.  The  passengers  were  in  a 
panic,  and  one  leaped  overboard  to  his 
death.  Dwight  L.  Moody,  who  was  on 
the  vessel,  inspired  all  with  courage  by 
his  splendid  composure  and  by  his  oft- 
repeated  assurance  that  God  would 
answer  their  prayers  and  bring  them 
safely  to  land.  He  frequently  said 
afterward,  that  nothing  short  of  the 
direct  interposition  of  Providence  in 
answer  to  prayer  saved  the  ship. 
**  There  never  was,"  he  said,  "  a  more 
earnest  prayer  than  that  of  those  seven 
hundred  souls  on  their  helpless,  almost 
sinking  ship  in  mid-ocean  on  that 
Sunday,  when  we  met  in  the  saloon  to 
implore  God's  help ;  and  God  answered 
us,  as  I  knew  He  would.  He  sent  the 
'  Lake  Huron '  to  our  rescue  and  made 
the  storm  a  calm."    "  At  this  meeting,'* 

84 


MY    FAITH    LOOKS    UP    TO    THEE 

wrote  General  O.  O.  Howard,  who  was 
a  fellow  passenger  with  Moody,  "  we 
sang  a  number  of  hymns,  among  them 
being  '  My  Faith  Looks  Up  to  Thee.' 
The  singing  was  led  by  a  Catholic  lady, 
who  was  returning  to  the  United  States 
from  South  America  by  way  of  Eng- 
land. We  were  a  united  band  of  God's 
children,  praying  for  deliverance." 

A  war  incident  in  connection  with 
this  hymn  is  worthy  of  being  repeated: 
Some  six  or  eight  Christian  officers  of 
a  New  York  regiment,  whose  time  had 
expired,  were  eagerly  expecting  to  be 
mustered  out  when  the  forward  move- 
ment was  ordered,  which  resulted  in  the 
battle  of  Fredericksburg.  They  spent 
the  evening  preceding  the  battle  in  se- 
rious talk  which  ended  in  hymn-singing 
and  prayer.  They  believed  that  this 
would  be  their  last  night  together;  and 
they  knew  that  it  would  be  a  source  of 
joy  and  comfort  to  their  loved  ones  at 
home  to  learn  that  their  trust  in  God 

85 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

faltered  not,  so  they  wrote  on  a  sheet 
of  paper  the  hymn  "  My  Faith  Looks 
Up  to  Thee,"  and  signed  their  names 
at  the  bottom.  The  next  evening  found 
several  of  these  brave  young  fellows 
lying  cold  and  still  beneath  the  stars. 
The  prayer  of  each  now  silent  voice: 

**  O  bear  me  safe  above, 
A  ransomed  soul," 

had  been  answered.  One  of  the  sur- 
vivors told  Dr.  Palmer  this  beautiful 
story  of  devotion  and  faith. 

Dr.  Charles  Ray  Palmer  gives  us 
this  pleasant  personal  glimpse  of  his 
father:  "  If  I  were  to  speak  of  him  as 
he  was  in  his  later  years,  I  should  men- 
tion as  eminently  characteristic  of  him 
a  thorough  conscientiousness  and  hon- 
esty; and  add,  that  he  always  seemed 
to  have  himself  well  in  hand.  He  had 
a  sensitive  nature,  but  it  was  under 
control.  He  was  a  loyal  friend  and  a 
generous  opponent.     Of  guile,  or  of 

86 


MY    FAITH    LOOKS    UP    TO    THEE 

enmity,  he  was  wholly  incapable.  Firm 
and  intelligent  in  his  convictions,  and 
having  the  courage  and  the  skill  to  de- 
fend them,  he  was  without  a  trace  of  big- 
otry or  narrowness.  He  was  judicious 
in  counsel,  and  often  a  peacemaker. 
Rich  and  quick  in  his  sympathies,  he 
never  let  them  lead  him  astray. 

"  Poetry  was  at  first  a  spontaneous 
outcome  of  his  highly  susceptible  na- 
ture—  the  overflow  of  abundant  feel- 
ing ;  then  something  to  which  he  turned 
aside  from  sterner  pursuits  for  relief 
and  recreation  —  half  jealous  lest  it  ab- 
sorb too  much  of  the  time  and  strength 
that  his  vocation  demanded;  then,  as 
a  means  of  self -culture,  and  especially 
of  spiritual  self -culture ;  and,  finally, 
a  high  and  holy  service  to  which  he  felt 
called  of  God  and  of  his  age. 

"  Nothing  could  have  surprised  him 
more  than  did  the  wide  acceptance  of 
*  My  Faith  Looks  Up  to  Thee,'  to  him 
only  the  outcome  in  a  still  hour  of  a 

8T 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

surcharged  heart.  If  the  writing  of  it 
were  a  service  to  the  Church,  never  was 
service  more  unwittingly  rendered;  if 
it  were  a  work  of  art,  never  was  art 
more  unconscious.  I  consider  it  a  beau- 
tiful illustration  of  the  truth  that,  as 
a  rule,  the  best  work  we  do,  we  do 
without  knowing  it." 

"  My  Faith  Looks  Up  to  Thee  "  was 
written  when  Dr.  Palmer  was  twenty- 
two.  In  an  appendix  to  his  "  Poetical 
Works,"  published  in  1876,  he  has 
given  this  interesting  description  of  his 
life  at  this  period  and  of  the  origin  of 
the  hymn : 

"  Immediately  after  graduating  at 
Yale  College,  in  September,  1830,  the 
writer  went  to  the  city  of  New  York 
to  spend  a  year  in  teaching  in  a  select 
school  for  young  ladies.  This  private 
institution,  which  was  patronised  by  the 
best  class  of  families,  was  under  the 
direction  of  an  excellent  Christian  lady 
connected  with   St.   George's   Church, 


MY    FAITH    LOOKS    UP    TO    THEE 

the  rector  of  which  was  then  the  good 
Dr.  James  Milnor.  It  was  in  Fulton 
Street,  west  of  Broadway,  and  a  little 
below  Church  Street,  on  the  south  side 
of  the  way.  That  whole  section  of  the 
city,  now  covered  with  immense  stores 
and  crowded  with  business,  was  then 
occupied  by  genteel  residences.  The 
writer  resided  in  the  family  of  the  lady 
who  kept  the  school,  and  it  was  there 
that  the  hymn  was  written. 

"  It  had  no  external  occasion  what- 
ever. Having  been  accustomed  from 
childhood,  through  an  inherited  pro- 
pensity perhaps,  to  the  occasional  ex- 
pression of  what  his  heart  felt,  in  the 
form  of  verse,  it  was  in  accordance 
with  this  habit,  and  in  an  hour  when 
Christ,  in  the  riches  of  His  grace  and 
love,  was  so  vividly  apprehended  as 
to  fill  the  soul  with  deep  emotion,  that 
the  lines  were  composed.  There  was 
not  the  slightest  thought  of  writing 
for  another  eye,  least  of  all  writing  a 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

hymn  for  Christian  worship.  Away 
from  outward  excitement,  in  the  quiet 
of  his  chamber,  and  with  a  deep  con- 
sciousness of  his  own  needs,  the  writer 
transferred  as  faithfully  as  he  could  to 
paper  what  at  the  time  was  passing 
within  him.  Six  stanzas  were  com- 
posed and  imperfectly  written,  first  on 
a  loose  sheet,  and  then  accurately 
copied  into  a  small  morocco-covered 
book,  which  for  such  purposes  the 
author  was  accustomed  to  carry  in  his 
pocket.  This  first  complete  copy  is 
still  [1875]  preserved.  It  is  well  re- 
membered that  when  writing  the  last 
line,  '  A  ransomed  soul,'  the  thought 
that  the  whole  work  of  redemption  and 
salvation  was  involved  in  those  words, 
and  suggested  the  theme  of  eternal 
praises,  moved  the  writer  to  a  degree 
of  emotion  that  brought  abundant  tears. 
"  A  year  or  two  after  the  hjnnn  was 
written,  and  when  no  one,  so  far  as 
can  be  recollected,  had  ever  seen  it, 

90 


WITH  A   DEEP   CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  HIS   OWN    NEEDS,  HE   TRANS- 
FERRED     TO     PAPER,     AS      FAITHFULLY     AS      HE      COULD, 
WHAT    WAS    PASSING    WITHIN    HIM." Page    90. 


MY    FAITH    LOOKS    UP    TO    THEE 

Dr.  Lowell  Mason  met  the  author  in 
the  street  in  Boston,  and  requested  him 
to  furnish  some  hymns  for  a  Hymn 
and  Tune  Booh,  which,  in  connection 
with  Dr.  Hastings  of  New  York,  he 
was  about  to  publish.  The  little  book 
containing  the  hymn  was  shown  him, 
and  he  asked  for  a  copy.  We  stepped 
into  a  store  together,  and  a  copy  was 
made  and  given  to  him,  which,  without 
much  notice,  he  put  in  his  pocket.  On 
sitting  down  at  home  and  looking  it 
over,  he  became  so  much  interested  in 
it  that  he  wrote  for  it  the  tune  *  Olivet,' 
in  which  it  has  almost  universally  been 
sung.  Two  or  three  days  afterward 
we  met  again  in  the  street,  when, 
scarcely  waiting  to  salute  the  writer, 
he  earnestly  exclaimed:  *  Mr.  Palmer, 
you  may  live  many  years  and  do  many 
good  things,  but  I  think  you  will  be 
best  known  to  posterity  as  the  author 
of  '  My  Faith  Looks  Up  to  Thee! ' " 
Dr.  C.  R.  Palmer  thus  writes  of  his 

91 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

father's  closing  hours:  "His  love  for 
hymns  grew  upon  him  in  his  declin- 
ing years.  They  became  not  only  his 
psalms  of  adoration,  but  his  songs  of 
hope  and  gladness,  his  voices  of  sorrow 
and  comfort,  his  petitions,  his  litanies, 
and  his  intercessions.  They  were  the 
occupation  of  his  latest  hours.  As  I 
watched  by  his  bedside  when,  through 
the  paralysis  of  his  throat,  he  was 
jslowly  starving  to  death,  and  mortal 
weakness  was  limiting  more  and  more 
his  consciousness  of  his  environment,  I 
discerned  that  they  were  still  in  his 
thoughts.  Toward  the  very  last  I  de- 
tected in  his  laborious  effort  at  utter- 
ance, first  the  rhythm,  and  then  a 
syllable  or  two  —  scarcely  articulated 
—  of  a  familiar  stanza.  It  was  one  of 
his  own: 

"  '  When  death  these  mortal  eyes  shaU  seal 
And  still  this  throbbing  heart; 
The  rending  veil  shall  Thee  reveal, 
All  glorious  as  Thou  art ! ' 

92 


MY    FAITH    LOOKS    UP    TO    THEE 

"  After  this  he  went  on  his  way,  and 
I  heard  him  no  more.  But  for  us  who 
are  left  behind,  it  is  pleasant  to  think 
that,  while  joining  in  the  praises  of 
Heaven,  he  is  not  without  his  continued 
participation  in  the  worship  on  earth. 
This  is  the  abiding  recompense  of  the 
hymn- writer." 


93 


V 

SUN  OF  MY  SOUL 


^un  of  mv  Jfottl  Wbon  ^abiour  bear, 
M  i^  not  nigljt  if  ^i)ou  be  near ; 
0  map  no  eartb=born  cloub  arisie 
tKo  W^t  Cftee  from  Wi^v  sJerbanrsi  epesi. 

I^ijen  tfje  siof t  beto£(  of  feinblp  fiileep 
iHp  toearieb  epelibs;  gentlp  siteep, 
^t  mv  tot  tbousbt,  bobj  sitoeet  to  ttsit 
jf oreber  on  mp  ^abiour'si  breast. 

^mt  bJitij  me  from  morn  tiU  ebe, 
Jf  or  bJitbout  W\}tt  3  cannot  libe ; 
mitit  bjitf)  me  bJben  nigbt  isi  nigfj, 
Jf  or  bJittiout  Cbee  3J  bare  not  W. 

M  JSome  poor  toanbering  tfjilb  of  tlTijine 
JUag  £(purneb  to=bap  tfje  boice  bibine, 
^ob3,  Horb,  tbe  graciou£f  toork  begin; 
Het  l)im  no  more  lie  boton  in  jaiin. 

Wattl)  hv  tfje  gitfe ;  enriclj  tfje  poor 
^itb  blesfsingjs  from  tIDbp  bounblegsf  sitore ; 
JSe  eberp  mourner's;  sdeep  tonigbt, 
ILikt  inf ant£{*  silumber^,  pure  anb  ligftt. 

Come  near  anb  blejfj;  ujf  tofjen  toe  toafee, 
€re  tbrougb  tije  toorlb  our  bjap  toe  take ; 
trill  in  tbe  ocean  of  Wi}V  lo^^ 
Wt  lo2(e  oursielbesf  in  Jleaben  abobe. 

7 


SUN  OF  MY  SOUL 


ERHAPS  to  few  men,  if 
any,  could  Fitz-Greene 
Halleck's  tender  lines  on 
the  death  of  Joseph  Rod- 
man Drake, 


"  None  knew  thee  but  to  love  thee. 
Nor  named  thee  but  to  praise," 

be  more  truthfully  applied  than  to 
"  dear  John  Keble,"  as  his  friends  and 
intimate  associates  loved  to  call  him, 
the  author  of  that  most  exquisite  of 
evening  hymns,  ""'  Sun  of  My  Soul." 

"  I  suppose,"  wrote  a  friend,  "  that 
no  one  has  died  in  England  within  our 
time  who  has  been  so  dearly  beloved, 
and  whose  memory  will  be  held  in  such 
tender  reverence.  What  I  think  re- 
markable was  not  how  many  people 
loved  him,  or  how  much  they  loved 
him,  but  that  everybody  seemed  to  love 
him  with  the  very  best  love  of  which 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

they  were  capable.  It  was  like  loving 
goodness  itself;  you  felt  that  what  was 
good  in  him  was  bringing  into  life  all 
that  was  best  in  you." 

Another  friend  declared  that  "  there 
is  something  of  the  mellow  brightness 
of  a  summer  Sunday  about  his  life 
and  work  " ;  and  although  he  obtained 
the  highest  honours  of  his  university,  it 
is  far  more  to  his  credit  to  be  informed 
that  "  he  was  more  remarkable  for  his 
rare  beauty  of  character  than  even 
for  his  academic  distinctions."  An  old 
schoolmate,  looking  back  through  the 
misty  distance  of  more  than  a  half 
century,  wrote :  "It  was  the  singular 
happiness  of  his  nature,  even  in  his 
undergraduate  days,  that  love  for  him 
was  always  sanctified  by  reverence  — 
reverence  that  did  not  make  the  love 
less  tender,  and  love  that  did  but  add 
to  the  intensity  of  the  reverence." 

He  was  passionately  fond  of  chil- 
dren, the  more  so,  perhaps,  because  of 

100 


SUN    OF    MY    SOUL 

the  great  heart-hunger  occasioned  by 
having  none  of  his  own.  He  once  said 
to  a  number  of  Httle  scholars  who  had 
been  singing  for  him:  "My  dear  chil- 
dren, you  sang  most  beautifully  in  tune. 
May  your  whole  lives  be  equally  in 
tune,  and  then  you  will  sing  with  the 
angels  in  Heaven." 

John  Keble  was  born  in  Fairford, 
England,  April  25,  1792.  His  father, 
a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, is  described  as  being  "  a  sweet- 
natured  man  and  a  fine  classical  scholar, 
who  took  charge  of  his  son's  education; 
and  so  successfully,  that  at  fifteen  he 
was  admitted  to  Corpus  Christi  Col- 
lege, Oxford."  He  was  a  brilliant  stu- 
dent, and  was  graduated  in  1810  with 
double  first-class  honours,  a  distinction 
which  up  to  that  time  had  been  gained 
alone  by  Sir  Robert  Peel. 

In  1816,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four, 
he  was  ordained  to  the  ministry,  and 
had  charge  of  two  small  hamlets  near 

101 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Fairford.  From  1818  to  1823  he  was 
a  tutor  in  Oxford.  He  then  resumed 
the  ministerial  duties  of  his  '  former 
parishes,  although  the  remuneration  was 
only  about  one  hundred  pounds.  The 
following  year  he  was  offered  an  ap- 
pointment as  archdeacon,  which  carried 
with  it  a  salary  of  two  thousand  pounds, 
but  this  he  declined.  In  1826  he  be- 
came his  father's  curate,  and  in  1831 
accepted  the  professorship  of  poetry  in 
Oxford. 

He  was  an  attractive  preacher.  "  I 
recollect,"  says  one,  "  what  music  there 
was  in  the  simple  earnestness  and  sweet 
gravity  with  which  he  spoke."  "  He 
was  eminently  winning,"  wrote  Dr. 
Pusey;  "he  let  himself  down  to  the 
most  uneducated  in  his  audience.  He 
seemed  always  to  count  himself  as  one 
of  the  sinners,  one  of  the  penitents." 
John  Henry  Newman,  afterward  Car- 
dinal Newman,  who  was  a  very  dear 
friend  of  Keble,  says:  "On  one  occa- 

102 


SUN    OF    MY    SOUL 

sion  he  preached  a  sermon  in  the  Uni- 
versity which  made  a  great  impression. 
Froude  and  I  left  St.  Mary's  so  much 
touched  by  it  that  we  did  not  speak  to 
each  other  all  the  way  down  to  Oriel." 
It  was  while  Keble  was  fiUing  the 
chair  of  poetry  in  Oxford  that  he 
entered  upon  a  movement  which  was 
destined  to  be  far-reaching  in  its  influ- 
ence upon  his  own  and  subsequent 
times.  Cardinal  Newman  writes:  "  On 
Sunday,  July  14,  1833,  Mr.  Keble 
preached  the  assise  sermon  in  the  Uni- 
versity. It  was  published  under  the 
title  of  *  National  Apostasy.'  I  have 
ever  considered  and  kept  the  day  as 
the  start  of  the  rehgious  movement  of 
1833."  One  of  the  chief  objects  of 
this  movement,  the  "  Oxford  Move- 
ment," as  it  is  frequently  called,  was 
to  raise  to  a  higher  standard  the  spirit- 
ual condition  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land; and  one  of  the  results  was,  that 
John  Henry  Newman,  a  leader  with 

103 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Keble  and  Pusey  in  the  movement,  left 
the  Episcopal  Church,  after  a  long 
struggle  for  light,  and  united  with 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  in  which 
Church  he  afterward  became  a  Cardi- 
nal. This  action  of  Newman  was  to 
his  friend  Keble  and  others  a  source  of 
lifelong  sorrow. 

In  1835  Keble's  father  died,  in  the 
ninetieth  year  of  his  age,  and  his  son 
succeeded  him  as  vicar  of  Hursley, 
which  position  he  held  for  thirty  years, 
and  in  which  he  died  in  1866,  in  his 
seventy-fourth  year.  His  wife,  whom 
he  married  shortly  after  his  father's 
death,  and  to  whom  he  was  devotedly 
attached,  lived  less  than  two  months 
longer. 

It  is,  however,  through  his  famous 
collection  of  poems.  The  Christian 
Year,  that  Keble  is  best  known  and 
will  be  longest  remembered.  These 
poems  were  written  between  1819  and 
1827.      The   early   attempts   were   in- 

104 


SUN    OF    MY    SOUL 

tended  for  his  own  church  people  to 
use  on  red-letter  days  in  the  Church 
calendar,  but  the  scope  of  the  work  was 
afterward  enlarged  so  as  to  complete 
the  entire  calendar,  thus  making  it  a 
poetical  summary  of  the  Christian  year, 
and  a  companion  to  the  Book  of  Com- 
mon Prayer, 

He  himself  placed  but  little  value  on 
his  poems,  and  it  was  only  at  the  re- 
peated solicitations  of  his  father  and 
friends  that  he  finally  permitted  them 
to  be  published,  anonymously,  in  1827. 
They  at  once  leaped  into  almost  phe- 
nomenal popularity.  "  It  was,"  wrote 
Cardinal  Newman,  "  the  most  soothing, 
tranquilising,  subduing  work  of  the 
day;  if  poems  can  be  found  to  enliven 
in  dejection  and  to  comfort  in  anxiety, 
to  eool  the  over-sanguine  and  to  refresh 
the  weary,  to  awe  the  worldly,  to  instil 
resignation  into  the  impatient,  and 
calmness  into  the  fearful  and  agitated, 
they  are  these." 

103 


PAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

The  work  has  become  a  Christian 
classic.  Archdeacon  Prescott  writes: 
"  I  myself  know  of  no  body  of  unin- 
spired poetry  where  purity  and  power, 
where  knowledge  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures and  knowledge  of  the  human 
heart,  where  the  love  of  nature  and  the 
love  of  Christ  are  so  wonderfully  com- 
bined." While  Canon  Barry  says, 
"It  is  a  book  which  leads  the  soul  up 
to  God";  and  Dr.  Arnold  declares, 
"  Nothing  equal  to  the  poems  exists  in 
our  language." 

John  Mason  Neale,  a  man  to  whom 
English  hymnology  owes  much  because 
of  his  matchless  translations  of  the 
early  Latin  and  Greek  hymns  into 
English,  was  a  close  friend  of  Keble. 
One  day  Keble,  whom  he  was  visiting, 
had  to  leave  the  room  for  a  time,  and 
when  he  returned,  Neale  said,  "  Why, 
Keble,  I  thought  you  always  told  me 
that  The  Christian  Year  was  original." 
"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  it  certainly  is."  "  Then 

106 


SUN    OF    MY    SOUL 

how  comes  this?  "  and  Neale  placed  be- 
fore him  the  Latin  of  one  of  Keble's 
poems.  Keble  was  amazed,  but  pro- 
tested that  he  had  never  seen  it  before. 
After  enjoying  his  friend's  evident  dis- 
comfiture for  a  moment,  Dr.  Neale  in- 
formed him  that  it  was  one  of  his  own 
and  that  he  had  made  the  Latin  trans- 
lation during  his  absence. 

Before  Keble's  death,  ninety-five  edi- 
tions of  the  book  had  been  sold;  and 
this  number  had  increased  to  one  hun- 
dred and  nine  editions  the  year  after 
his  death.  Between  the  time  of  publi- 
cation, in  1827,  and  1873,  three  hundred 
and  five  thousand  copies  of  the  book 
had  been  printed,  and  the  number  is 
now  above  a  half  million.  Nothing, 
perhaps,  could  better  illustrate  its  wide 
circulation  than  to  state  that  on  one 
occasion  four  strangers  met  on  Mt. 
Sinai,  and  it  was  discovered  that  three 
of  them  were  in  possession  of  The 
Christian  Year. 

107 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

It  was  from  the  proceeds  of  the  sale 
of  the  book  that  the  author  largely  re- 
built his  parish  church. 

It  was  in  the  second  poem  printed  in 
The  Christian  Year  that  Keble's  fa- 
mous evening  hymn,  "  Sun  of  My 
Soul,"  first  appeared  —  a  hymn  which 
voices  the  sentiments  and  the  prayers 
of  countless  Christian  hearts  as  the 
twilight  fades  into  night  and  they  yield 
themselves  to  sleep  and  helplessness. 

In  a  wild  night  a  gallant  ship  went 
to  her  doom.  A  few  women  and  chil- 
dren were  placed  in  a  boat,  without  oars 
or  sails,  and  drifted  away  at  the  mercy 
of  the  waves.  Earlier  in  the  evening, 
before  the  darkness  had  quite  settled 
down,  brave  men  on  the  shore  had  seen 
the  peril  of  the  vessel  and  had  put  out 
in  the  face  of  the  tempest,  hoping  to 
save  human  life,  but  even  the  ship  could 
not  be  found.  After  fruitless  search, 
they  were  about  returning  to  the  shore, 
when  out  on  the  water,  and  above  the 

108 


SUN    OF    MY    SOUL 

wail  of  the  storm,  they  heard  a  woman's 
clear  voice  singing: 

"  Sun  of  my  soul,  Thou  Saviour  dear, 
It  is  not  night,  if  Thou  be  near." 

The  work  of  rescue  was  quickly  accom- 
plished. But  for  the  singing,  in  all 
probability,  this  boat-load  of  lives  would 
have  drifted  beyond  human  help  or 
been  dashed  to  pieces  before  morning. 

Chaplain  Wright,  after  an  experi- 
ence of  twenty  years  in  the  United 
States  Navy,  declares  that  he  finds  no 
hymn  with  a  more  permanent  hold  on 
the  affection  of  marines  and  sailors  than 
"  Sun  of  My  Soul." 

The  Cree  Indians  of  the  Northwest 
Territory  sing  this  hymn  in  their  own 
language  and  prize  it  very  highly.  "  In 
1886,  a  deputation  of  that  portion  of 
the  tribe  under  the  instruction  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  waited  upon  one 
of  the  Synods  to  press  their  claims. 
There  were  no  orators  in  the  delegation, 

109 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

but  there  were  some  good  voices  that 
sweetly  melted  into  the  tender  melody 
of  Keble's  '  Sun  of  My  Soul';  and  the 
hymn,  though  sung  in  the  language  of 
the  Crees,  made  a  deeper  impression 
upon  the  Synod  than  any  other  words 
they  could  use." 

A  visitor  once  asked  Alfred  Tenny- 
son what  his  thoughts  were  of  Christ. 
They  were  walking  in  a  garden,  and, 
for  a  moment,  the  great  poet  was  si- 
lent, then,  bending  over  some  beautiful 
flowers,  he  said :  "  What  the  sun  is 
to  these  flowers  Jesus  Christ  is  to  my 
soul.  He  is  the  sun  of  my  soul."  Con- 
sciously or  unconsciously  he  was  ex- 
pressing the  same  thought  in  the  same 
language  used  by  good  John  Keble 
years  before  when  he  gave  to  the  world 
his  great  heart  hymn,  "  Sun  of  My 
Soul." 

Much  of  the  usefulness  of  a  hymn  is 
lost  because  many  persons  fail  to  study 
its  words  carefully  and  make  its  senti- 

110 


SUN    OF    MY    SOUL 

ments  voice  their  o\^ti  deeper  feelings 
and  spiritual  aspirations.  "  Sun  of  My 
Soul "  is  one  of  the  finest  examples  in 
our  language  of  what  a  true  prayer 
hymn  should  be.  Beginning  with  a 
beautiful  acknowledgment  of  what  God 
is  to  us,  there  follows  an  earnest  suppli- 
cation that  debasing  thoughts  may 
be  driven  away,  that  "no  earth-born 
cloud  "  may  arise  to  hide  us  from  our 
Saviour;  indeed,  the  first  three  stanzas 
are  devoted  to  an  earnest  plea  for  the 
right  relation  of  our  own  hearts  to  God. 
From  that  point  it  is  easy  and  natural 
to  think  of  and  pray  for  others.  How 
inclusive  are  the  next  two  stanzas!  — 
the  wanderer,  the  sick,  the  poor,  the 
mourner,  are  all  sympathetically  re- 
membered; and  then  follow  the  tender 
and  comforting  appeal  for  divine  guid- 
ance throughout  our  earthly  life  and 
the  exquisitely  expressed  belief  in  an 
eternity  of  joy  with  which  the  hymn 
ends: 

111 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

"  Come  near  and  bless  us  when  we  wake, 
Ere  through  the  world  our  way  we  take, 
Till  in  the  ocean  of  Thy  love 
We  lose  ourselves  in  Heaven  above." 

Keble  himself  admirably  illustrated 
in  his  own  life  the  trustful  spirit  he  so 
perfectly  portrays  in  his  hymn;  he  let 
no  cares  make  him  over-anxious.  He 
enjoyed  at  all  times  the  blessed  privi- 
lege of  being  able  to  sleep  soundly  — 
"  Because  he  had  no  feeling,"  he  would 
laughingly  explain;  but  his  wife,  with 
intimate  knowledge  of  his  fine  spiritual 
trustfulness,  said:  "He  lays  aside  his 
anxieties  with  his  prayers.  He  does 
the  best  he  can,  the  issue  is  with  God, 
with  whom  he  is  content  to  leave  it, 
therefore  he  sleeps  like  a  little  child." 

When  the  sun  slips  down  the  western 
sky  and  twilight  deepens  and  darkens 
into  night,  out  on  the  vast  stretches  of 
water,  in  lonely  forest  cabins,  on  far- 
reaching  prairies,  in  stately  churches, 
on  rugged  mountain  slopes,  in  crowded 

112 


J 


'and  in  quiet  country  places,  we  turn  instinctively 

TO   THE   one   hymn   THAT   FITS   INTO   OUR   MOOD 

AND   NEED." — Page  1]'3. 


SUN    OF    MY    SOUL 

cities,  and  in  quiet  country  places,  — 
indeed,  wherever  Christians  are  found, 
human  hearts  grow  tender  with  a  name- 
less longing  which  often  demands  ex- 
pression in  words,  and  instinctively  they 
turn  to  the  one  hymn  that  fits  most  per- 
fectly into  their  mood  and  need;  they 
feel  God's  presence  and  something  of 
"the  peace  that  passeth  understand- 
ing," as  they  sing: 

*'  Sun  of  my  soul.  Thou  Saviour  dear, 
It  is  not  night,  if  Thou  be  near." 


lis 


VI 

LEAD,   KINDLY  LIGHT 


Heab,  feinblp  Higtit,  amib  tje  encitriing  gloom, 

Heab  ^t)ou  me  on ; 
tlTije  ntgfit  ts(  bark,  anb  3$  am  far  ttom  tome ; 

Heab  tETijou  mie  on : 
I^eep  tirtou  mp  feet ;  31)  bo  not  asik  to  s(ee 
^fie  bifiitant  icene,  —  one  sitep  enouglj  for  me. 

1&  tDas(  not  eber  ttusi,  nor  prapeb  tfiat  Wbon 

^f)oulb2;t  leab  me  on ; 
1&  lobeb  to  cf)oo£(e  anb  fi;ee  mp  patl) ;  but  nobi 

Xeab  ^fjou  me  on. 
3  lobeb  tfje  garififb  bap,  anb,  sipite  of  feartf, 
^ribe  ruleb  mp  toill:  remember  not  pasitreari. 

^0  long  Wbv  pober  batf)  blesit  me,  siure  tt  stttll 

W^ill  leab  me  on 
^*tv  moor  anb  fen,  o'er  crag  anb  torrent,  till 

tEDbe  ntgtt  isi  gone ; 
janb  fcDitb  tbe  morn  tfjosfe  angel  f aceji  tfmile, 
Wbtcf)  ^  babe  lobeb  long  sitnce,  anb  los(t  abifitle. 


john    henry   newman,   author   of      lead,   kindly 
light/' 


LEAD,    KINDLY   LIGHT 

HEZEKIAH  BUTTER- 
WORTH,  an  authority 
on  hymnology,  pro- 
nounces this  to  be  "  the 
sweetest  and  most  trust- 
ful of  modern  hymns  " ;  while  Colonel 
Nicholas  Smith  says,  "  Christians  of  all 
denominations  and  of  every  grade  of 
culture  feel  its  charm  and  find  in  it  *a 
language  for  some  of  the  deepest  yearn- 
ings of  the  soul.'  The  hymn-books  do 
not  contain  a  more  exquisite  lyric.  As 
a  prayer  for  a  troubled  soul  for  guid- 
ance, it  ranks  with  the  most  deservedly 
famous  church  songs  in  the  English 
language." 

'^  Its  distinguished  author,  John  Henry 
Newman,  was  born  February  21,  1801, 
the  son  of  a  London  banker,  and 
seventy-eight  years  later  became  a  Car- 
dinal of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
At  the  early  age  of  nineteen  he  was 

119 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

graduated  from  Trinity  College,  Ox- 
ford, and  became  a  tutor  in  Oriel  Col- 
lege. He  was  ordained  in  1824,  and 
in  1828  was  made  vicar  of  St.  Mary's 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  Oxford. 

He  was  a  popular,  forceful  preacher, 
with  fluent  speech,  perfect  diction,  and 
a  splendid  fund  of  illustration  which  he 
always  used  with  telling  effect.  He 
was  deeply  interested  in  the  heart-life 
of  men,  and  was  ever  ready  to  en- 
courage them  to  speak  to  him  freely 
of  their  experiences  and  temptations. 
He  exercised  a  strong  influence  over 
the  students  who  thronged  his  church. 

In  December,  1832,  because  of  im- 
paired health,  he  went  with  friends  to 
southern  Europe.  The  spiritual  unrest, 
kindled  by  the  "  Oxford  Movement," 
which  finally  led  him  to  unite  with  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  in  1845,  was 
already  upon  him;  he  sought  eagerly 
and  conscientiously  for  divine  guidance 
in  solving  the  great  doctrinal  problems 

120 


LEAD^    KINDLY    LIGHT 

that  vexed  his  soul.  It  was  during  this 
period  of  inner  disquietude  and  of 
anxious  thought  for  the  future  of  the 
EstabHshed  Church,  of  which  he  was 
still  a  member,  that  his  noble  hymn, 
"Lead,  Kindly  Light,"  had  birth - 
a  hymn  which  has  voiced  the  heart- 
felt prayers  of  thousands  for  spiritual 
guidance. 

In  the  minds  of  many  there  is  inti- 
mate association  of  thought  between 
Newman's  supplication: 

"  Lead,   kindly   Light,   amid   the   encircling 
gloom, 

Lead  Thou  me  on !  " 

and  another  intensely  human  heart-cry 
for  direction  and  companionship  in  the 
hour  of  need  —  Henry  Francis  Lyte's 

"  Abide  with  me,  fast  falls  the  eventide : 
The    darkness    deepens:    Lord,    with    me 
abide." 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  both  of 
these   hymns    were    composed    on   the 

121 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

sacred  day  of  rest :  Newman's,  on  Sun- 
day, June  16,  1833;  and  Lyte's,  on 
Sunday,  September  5,  1847. 

NewTQan  has  left  us  this  very  enter- 
taining description  of  the  circumstances 
under  which  his  hymn  was  written: 

"  I  went  to  the  various  coasts  of  the 
Mediterranean;  parted  with  my  friends 
at  Rome;  went  down  for  the  second 
time  to  Sicily,  without  companion,  at 
the  end  of  April.  I  struck  into  the 
middle  of  the  Island,  and  fell  ill  of 
a  fever  at  Leonforte.  My  servant 
thought  I  was  dying,  and  begged  for 
my  last  directions.  I  gave  them,  as  he 
wished,  but  I  said,  *  I  shall  not  die.'  I 
repeated  *  I  shall  not  die,  for  I  have 
not  sinned  against  the  Light;  I  have 
not  sinned  against  the  Light.'  I 
have  never  been  able  quite  to  make 
out  what  I  meant. 

"  I  got  to  Castro- Giovanni,  and  was 
laid  up  there  for  nearly  three  weeks. 
Toward  the  end  of  May  I  left  for 

122 


CO 


LEAD,    KINDLY    LIGHT 

Palermo,  taking  three  days  for  the 
journey.  Before  starting  from  my  inn, 
on  the  morning  of  May  26  or  27,  I  sat 
down  on  my  bed  and  began  to  sob  vio- 
lently. My  servant,  who  had  acted  as 
my  nurse,  asked  what  ailed  me.  I  could 
only  answer  him,  '  I  have  a  work  to  do 
in  England.' 

I  was  aching  to  get  home;  yet,  for 
want  of  a  vessel,  I  was  kept  at  Palermo 
for  three  weeks.  I  began  to  visit  the 
churches,  and  they  calmed  my  impa- 
tience, though  I  did  not  attend  any  of 
the  services.  At  last  I  got  off  in  an 
orange  boat,  bound  for  Marseilles. 
Then  it  was  that  I  wrote  the  lines, 
*  Lead,  Kindly  Light.'/  We  were  be- 
calmed a  whole  week  in  the  Straits  of 
Bonifacio.  I  was  writing  the  whole  of 
my  passage."  Elsewhere  he  informs 
us  that  the  exact  date  on  which  the 
hymn  was  written  was  June  16. 

It  is  pleasant  to  think  that  this  much- 
loved  hymn,  the  fervent  prayer  of  a 

123 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

doubt-tossed  soul,  was  written  in  one 
of  the  majestic  calms  that  sometimes 
lull  to  sleep  the  sunny  waters  of  the 
Mediterranean;  and  that  it  caught 
some  of  its  delicious  fragrance  from 
the  perfume  that  was  wafted  over  the 
waters  from  the  golden  cargo  with 
which  the  vessel  was  freighted.  It 
would  require  but  little  imagination  to 
picture  the  scene:  the  clumsy  boat,  the 
idly-hanging  sails,  the  listless,  swarthy 
crew,  the  brilliant  young  minister  ema- 
ciated by  mental  and  physical  suffering, 
the  solemn  sea,  and  over  all  the  match- 
less Italian  sky  and  the  tender  twilight 
calm.  Fit  hour  and  surroundings  for 
such  a  hymn  to  have  its  being. 

In  striking  contrast,  the  music  to 
which  the  words  are  inseparably  wedded, 
was  composed  by  Dr.  John  B.  Dykes 
as  he  walked  through  the  Strand,  one 
of  the  busiest  thoroughfares  of  London. 
It  may  be  that  the  tumultuous  street 
was  typical  of  the  wild  unrest  in  New- 

124 


LEAD,    KINDLY    LIGHT 

man's  heart  when  he  began  his  hymn; 
if  so,  surely  the  quiet  waters  of  the 
Mediterranean  on  that  holy  Sabbath 
evening  might  well  represent  his  spir- 
itual calm  when  it  was  ended  —  even 
though  subsequent  controversial  storms 
were  destined  to  beat  fiercely  upon  his 
soul. 

In  this  connection  it  may  prove  inter- 
esting to  read  the  following  from 
the  Random  Recollections  of  the  Rev. 
George  Huntington: 

"  I  had  been  paying  Cardinal  New- 
man a  visit.  For  some  reason  I  hap- 
pened to  mention  his  well-known  hymn, 
*  Lead,  Kindly  Light,'  which  he  said  he 
wrote  when  a  very  young  man.  I  ven- 
tured to  say, '  It  must  be  a  great  pleasure 
to  you  to  know  that  you  have  written 
a  hymn  treasured  wherever  English- 
speaking  Christians  are  to  be  found; 
and  where  are  they  not  to  be  found? ' 
He  was  silent  for  some  moments,  and 
then  said  with  emotion,  '  Yes,  deeply 

125 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

thankful,  and  more  than  thankful!' 
Then,  after  another  pause,  *  But,  you 
see,  it  is  not  the  hymn,  but  the  tune,  that 
has  gained  the  popularity!  The  tune 
is  by  Dykes,  and  Dr.  Dykes  was  a  great 
master.' " 

^Perhaps  nothing  more  fully  illus- 
trates the  general  acceptability  of  this 
beautiful  hymn  than  the  fact  that 
"  when  the  Parliament  of  Religion  met 
in  Chicago  during  the  Columbian  Ex- 
position, the  representatives  of  almost 
every  creed  known  to  man  found  two 
things  on  which  they  were  agreed :  They 
could  all  join  in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and 
all  could  sing  '  Lead,  Kindly  Light.'  " 
^-^  When  some  one,  a  few  years  ago, 
asked  William  E.  Gladstone  to  give  the 
names  of  the  hymns  of  which  he  was 
most  fond,  he  replied  that  he  was  not 
quite  sure  that  he  had  any  favourites; 
and  then,  after  a  moment's  thought, 
he  said:  "Lead,  Kindly  Light,"  and 
"  Rock  of  Ages." 

126 


LEAD,    KINDLY    LIGHT 

"I  know  no  song,  ancient  or 
modern,"  writes  the  Rev.  L.  A.  Banks, 
D.D.,  "that  with  such  combined  ten- 
derness, pathos,  and  faith,  tells  the  story 
of  the  Christian  pilgrim  who  walks  by 
faith  and  not  by  sight.  No  doubt  it  is 
this  fidelity  to  heart  experience,  com- 
mon to  us  all,  that  makes  the  hymn  such 
a  universal  favourite.  There  are  dark 
nights,  and  homesick  hours,  and  be- 
calmed seas  for  each  of  us,  in  which  it 
is  natural  for  man  to  cry  out  in  New- 
man's words: 

"*The  night  is  dark,  and  I  am  far  from 
home. 

Lead  Thou  me  on.'  " 

The  Rev.  James  B.  Ely,  D.D.,  writes 
as  follows:  "  It  is  my  desire  to  relate 
one  interesting  incident  in  connection 
with '  Lead,  Kindly  Light.'  This  hymn 
was  sung  in  the  Lemon  Hill  PaviUon, 
Fairmount  Park,  Philadelphia,  on  a 
recent  Sabbath  morning,  at  a  time  when 

127 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

the  very  atmosphere,  the  beautiful  trees 
and  the  glowing  sun  seemed  to  empha- 
sise and  make  very  real  the  sentiments 
expressed.  A  young  man  in  the  audi- 
ence, who  was  a  Christian,  but  greatly 
burdened  with  many  anxieties,  felt  while 
this  hymn  was  being  sung  and  the  music 
repeated  by  the  cornet,  that  God  was 
preparing  him  for  some  special  trial 
through  which  he  must  pass.  During 
the  day  and  all  through  the  week  the 
melody  and  the  words  haunted  him; 
and  there  was  also  a  growing  feeling 
in  his  heart  that  he  ought  to  go  to  his 
old  home  and  visit  his  mother.  Finally, 
on  Friday  noon,  he  determined  that  he 
would  start  that  very  evening,  and 
made  his  plans  to  do  so.  Just  before 
leaving  his  place  of  business,  a  telegram 
came  informing  him  of  his  mother's 
sudden  death.  While  the  news  was  a 
great  shock  to  him,  yet  the  singing  of 
the  hymn  and  its  constant  reiteration 
in  his  thoughts  during  the  week  had, 

128 


LEADj    KINDLY    LIGHT 

in  a  measure,  prepared  him  for  his  sore 
bereavement.  The  hymn  has  since  be- 
come one  of  his  most  sacred  possessions. 
I  have  written  regarding  this  unusual 
incident  because  the  experience  is  so 
fresh  in  my  mind  and  so  real.  I  may 
add  that  this  hjTnn  has  again  and  again 
been  sung  by  large  audiences,  and  al- 
ways with  telling  spiritual  effect." 

Many  will  recall  that  this  hymn  was 
a  special  favourite  of  the  late  President 
McKinley,  and  that  it  was  sung  far 
and  wide  in  the  churches  on  the  first 
anniversary  of  his  death  and  burial. 

The  last  stanza  of  the  hymn  rings 
out  with  a  grand  declaration  of  trium- 
phant, child-like  faith  and  assurance: 

"  So  long  Thy  power  hath  blest  me,  sure  it 
still 

Will  lead  me  on 
O'er  moor  and  fen,  o'er  crag  and  torrent,  till 

The  night  is  gone; 
And  with  the  morn  those  angel  faces  smile, 
Which   I   have   loved  long   since,   and  lost 
awhile." 
9  129 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

There  has  been  some  controversy  as 
to  the  author's  meaning  in  the  last  two 
hnes.  Nearly  a  half  century  after  they 
were  written  some  one  asked  the  Car- 
dinal to  give  an  explanation,  and  in  a 
letter  dated  January  18,  1879,  he  thus 
wisely  rephed: 

"  You  flatter  me  by  your  question; 
but  I  think  it  was  Keble  who,  when 
asked  it  in  his  own  case,  answered  that 
poets  were  not  bound  to  be  critics,  or  to 
give  a  sense  to  what  they  had  written; 
and  though  I  am  not,  like  him,  a  poet, 
at  least  I  may  plead  that  I  am  not 
bound  to  remember  my  own  meaning, 
whatever  it  was,  at  the  end  of  almost 
fifty  years.  Anyhow,  there  must  be  a 
statute  of  limitation  for  writers  of 
verse,  or  it  would  be  quite  tyranny  if, 
in  an  art  which  is  the  expression,  not  of 
truth,  but  of  imagination  and  senti- 
ment, one  were  obliged  to  be  ready  for 
examination  on  the  transient  state  of 
mind  which  came  upon  one  when  home- 

130 


LEAD^    KINDLY    LIGHT 

sick,  or  seasick,  or  in  any  other  way- 
sensitive  or  excited." 

Cardinal  Newman  died  August  11, 
1890,  fifty-seven  years  after  his  hymn 
had  made  his  name  immortal. 
^  In  addition  to  the  quotations  from 
Hezekiah  Butterworth  and  Colonel 
Nicholas  Smith,  with  which  the  study 
of  this  hymr  begins,  it  will  doubtless 
prove  interesting  to  read  what  other 
men  of  prominence  have  said  in  this 
connection : 

"  This  much-loved  hymn."  —  Dr.  Louis  F. 
Benson,  author  of  "  Studies  of  Familiar 
Hymns." 

"  Its  sincerity  of  feeling  and  purity  of 
expression  have  made  it  universally  accept- 
able." —  Samuel  Willoughby  Duffield,  author 
of  "  English  Hymns." 

"This  is  truer  to  the  life  of  thoughtful 
men  than  almost  any  other  hymn,  but  it  is 
so  subjective  and  personal  that  it  is  more 
for  the  closet  than  for  the  Church.  It  is 
the  favourite  hymn  of  our  students."  —  The 
President  of  a  prominent  University. 

"  It  can  scarcely  be  called  either  a  great 
131 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

poem  or  a  great  hymn,  and  certainly  it  is 
not  a  lyric.  Yet  it  has  certain  striking  pas- 
sages, and  appeals  to  those  who  for  any 
reason  are  beset  by  darkness."  —  Rev.  David 
R.  Breed,  D.D.,  author  of  "The  History 
and  Use  of  Hymns  and  Hymn-Tunes." 

"  The  beautiful  hymn,  '  Lead,  Kindly 
Light,'  is  of  value  to  the  Church  for  its 
poetry  and  its  pathos.  For  times  of  depres- 
sion and  darkness  come  to  nearly  all  of  us, 
and  this  is  just  the  cry  which  the  heart 
bowed  down  would  use  at  such  times  of 
anxious  and  sacred  communion."  —  Rev.  G. 
L.  Stevens,  editor  of  "  Hymns  and  Carols." 

"  The  most  stirring  thing  I  know  is  that 
struggling  cry  of  the  wanderer  for  light, 
*  For  I  am  far  from  home.'  The  writer's 
personality  adds  pathos  to  his  tender  song. 
Out  of  this  song,  appropriated  by  a  strug- 
gling soul  to  himself,  one  is  prepared  for  the 
sublime  and  recovering  thought  in  the  dream 
of  the  wanderer,  '  with  sun  gone  down,'  and 
the  way  appearing  '  steps  up  to  heaven.'  "  — 
Rev.  William  V.  Milligan,  D.D.,  Cambridge, 
Ohio. 


132 


VII 

ROCK  OF  AGES 


3SiOtk  of  J^ges;,  cleft  for  me, 

Het  me  fjibe  mvitii  in  W^tt ; 

Het  tte  ttiater  wx^  tije  bloob, 

Jf rom  W^v  titien  gibe  fcDfticfj  flotoeb, 

iie  of  s(tn  ttie  bouble  cure, 

Clean£;e  me  from  iti  sutlt  anb  potoer. 

^ot  tfje  laljoursf  of  mj>  fjanbsf 
ODan  fulfil  W^v  lato's;  bemanbsf; 
Coulb  mv  ^eal  no  resipite  fenoto, 
Coulb  mv  tears;  for  eber  f  loto, 
jlill  for  s^in  coulb  not  atone ; 
tS^tou  musit  £;abe,  anb  tlTtiou  alone. 

iaotting  in  mv  ftanb  S  bring, 
^implp  to  ^l)p  cro£(2f  3  cling ; 
iSafeeb,  come  to  W^tt  for  bresijf, 
l^tVfiz^si,  look  to  tlTbee  for  grace; 
jf oul,  3  to  tfje  fountain  f Ip ; 
OTafl(f)  me,  ^abiour,  or  3  bie. 

Wf)ile  3)  bralo  ttis^  fleeting  breatib* 
?!t2lben  mp  epelibs;  closfe  in  beatfi, 
TM^tn  31  sioar  to  bjorlbsi  unfenoton, 
^ee  W^tt  on  W^v  I'ubgment  tjrone, 
3l^cfe  of  iigeg,  cleft  for  me, 
Het  me  \^i\^t  mpsielf  in  tlTfjee. 


ROCK   OF   AGES 

E  VON  SHIRE,  the  beau- 
tiful, has  inspired  at 
least  three  hymns  that 
will  always  be  treas- 
ured by  spiritually 
minded  people:  "Just  As  I  Am,"  by 
Charlotte  Elliott;  "Abide  with  Me," 
by  Henry  Francis  Lyte;  and  "Rock 
of  Ages,"  by  Augustus  Montague  Top- 
lady.  The  last  of  these  Dr.  Charles 
S.  Robinson  declares  to  be  "the  su- 
preme hymn  of  the  language  " ;  and 
Colonel  Nicholas  Smith  says,  "No 
other  hymn  has  swept  the  chords  of 
the  human  heart  with  a  more  hallowed 
touch." 

In  August,  1756,  in  a  barn  in  a  rural 
district  of  Ireland,  an  English  youth  of 
sixteen,  who  had  been  carefully  reared 
by  a  widowed  and  cultured  mother,  lis- 
tened with  rapt  attention  to  an  impas- 
sioned sermon  from  the  text,  "  But  now 

137 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

in  Christ  Jesus  ye  who  sometimes  were 
far  off  are  made  nigh  by  the  blood 
of  Christ."  —  Ephesians  2  :  13.  The 
speaker  was  James  Morris,  an  iUiterate 
layman,  a  disciple  of  the  Wesleys;  the 
boy  was  the  future  author  of  "  Rock  of 
Ages." 

Toplady  writes  as  follows  of  this  in- 
cident in  his  career:  "  Strange  that  I, 
who  had  so  long  sat  under  the  means 
of  grace  in  England,  should  be  brought 
nigh  unto  God  in  an  obscure  part  of 
Ireland,  amidst  a  handful  of  God's  peo- 
ple, met  together  in  a  barn,  and  under 
the  ministry  of  one  who  could  hardly 
spell  his  name.  Surely,  it  is  the  Lord's 
doing,  and  it  is  marvellous.  The  excel- 
lency of  such  power  must  be  of  God, 
and  cannot  be  of  man." 

In  thus  blessing  the  work  of  Mr. 
Morris  by  the  conversion  of  the  gifted 
boy  we  have  an  admirable  illustration  of 
how  the  Master  can  use  the  humblest  of 
men  in  the  salvation  of  others. 

138 


ROCK    OF    AGES 

Shortly  after,  Toplady  became  a 
student  in  Trinity  College,  Dublin, 
from  which  institution  he  was  in  due 
course  graduated.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-two  he  was  made  a  priest,  and 
became  curate  of  Farleigh,  and  in  1768 
he  was  appointed  to  Broad  Hembury, 
in  Devonshire.  Here  the  first  signs  of 
the  dread  disease,  consumption,  mani- 
fested themselves.  In  1775  he  went  to 
London,  hoping  that  a  drier  atmosphere 
would  prove  beneficial,  and  while  there 
he  preached  for  a  time  in  a  French  Cal- 
vinistic  church;  but  his  health  con- 
tinued to  fail,  and  he  died  on  the  11th 
of  August,  1778,  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
eight.  He  had  lived  long  enough,  how- 
ever, to  give  to  the  world  one  of  its  most 
highly  treasured  heart-songs. 

When  "Rock  of  Ages"  was  writ- 
ten is  not  known,  but  we  may  be  sure 
that  it  was  nothing  less  than  the  voice 
of  the  Almighty  that  inspired  the  au- 
thor to  write  words  of  such  soul-stirring 

139 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

power.  The  hymn  first  appeared,  in  an 
unfinished  form,  in  the  Gospel  Maga- 
zine of  October,  1775,  and  more  fully 
the  succeeding  year  in  the  March  num- 
ber of  the  same  periodical. 

The  Rev.  William  Reeside  Kirk- 
wood,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  writes: 

"  This  hymn  has  been  very  dear  to 
me  from  my  childhood.  It  was  a  great 
help  to  me  in  the  days  when  I  sought 
rest  and  found  none,  while  seeking  par- 
don for  sin.  It,  like  Wesley's  *  Jesus, 
Lover  of  My  Soul,'  is  a  very  direct  and 
personal  appeal  to  God,  but  it  has  a 
statelier  flow.  It  recognises  the  chasm 
and  the  cause  of  it  —  not  so  much  in 
words  as  by  imphcation.  It  is  personal, 
but  it  notes  the  Rock  of  Eternity,  and 
the  Cleft  in  the  Rock.  It  suggests 
Moses  at  Sinai.  It  does  not  lose  sight 
of  the  Law,  the  Lightning,  the  Judg- 
ment; yet,  when  its  spirit  is  appre- 
hended and  entered  into,  how  secure  one 
feels!    For  it  is  not  merely  the  loving 

140 


ROCK    OF    AGES 

man  Jesus  who  appears  alone,  but 
'  Jesus,  in  whom  dwelleth  all  the  fulness 
of  the  Godhead  bodily,'  so  that  seeing 
Him  we  see  the  Father,  and  realise  the 
whole  glory  of  the  present  Godhead  as 
our  security.  At  least,  this  is  the  way  it 
appeals  to  me. 

"  In  this  connection  let  me  tell  you  of 
a  version  I  had  in  my  boyhood  of  the 
circumstances  under  which  these  two 
hymns  were  written.  I  have  never  seen 
it  in  print.  It  was  told  me  by  a  man 
many  years  my  senior,  and  a  close  and 
careful  student:  Wesley  and  Toplady 
met  under  circumstances  which  led  to 
heated  theological  and  doctrinal  contro- 
versy; and,  of  course,  the  debate  was 
on  one  or  more  of  the  *  Five  Points.' 
They  argued  until  after  midnight,  but 
neither  could  convince  the  other.  They 
separated,  each  filled  with  spiritual  ex- 
altation. Full  of  joy  and  comfort  from 
his  view,  Wesley  wrote  '  Jesus,  Lover 
of  My  Soul,'  before  he  slept.    In  like 

141 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

manner,  Toplady,  exultant  in  his  view, 
wrote  '  Rock  of  Ages  '  before  he  sought 
rest.  Thus  out  of  hours  of  spirited 
controversy  on  the  '  Five  Points  '  grew 
two  of  the  noblest  hymns  of  our 
language." 

Mr.  W.  T.  Stead  makes  the  follow- 
ing interesting  reference  to  this  theo- 
logical controversy:  "Toplady  was  a 
sad  polemist  whose  orthodox  soul  was 
outraged  by  the  Arminianism  of  the 
Wesleys,  and  he  put  much  of  his  time 
and  energy  into  the  composition  of  con- 
troversial pamphlets,  on  which  the  good 
man  prided  himself  not  a  little.  The 
dust  lies  thick  upon  these  his  works,  nor 
is  it  likely  to  be  disturbed  now  or  in  the 
future.  But  in  a  pause  in  the  fray,  just 
by  way  of  filhng  up  an  interval  in  the 
firing  of  the  polemical  broadsides.  Top- 
lady  thought  he  saw  a  way  of  launching 
an  airy  dart  at  a  joint  in  Wesley's  ar- 
mour; so,  without  much  ado,  and  with- 
out any  knowledge  that  it  was  by  this 

142 


<s;{ 


o 


-   ? 


ROCK    OF    AGES 


alone  he  was  to  render  permanent  ser- 
vice to  mankind,  he  sent  off  to  the 
Gospel  Magazine  the  hymn  '  Rock  of 
Ages.'  When  it  appeared,  he  had,  no 
doubt,  considerable  complacency  in  re- 
flecting how  he  had  winged  his  oppon- 
ent for  his  insolent  doctrine  of  entire 
sanctification,  and  it  is  probable  that  be- 
fore he  died  —  for  he  only  survived  its 
publication  by  two  years  —  he  had  still 
no  conception  of  the  relative  impor- 
tance of  his  own  work.  But  to-day  the 
world  knows  Toplady  only  as  the  writer 
of  these  four  verses.  AH  else  that  he 
laboured  over  it  has  forgotten ;  and,  in- 
deed, does  well  to  forget." 

The  Rev.  Edward  Milton  Page, 
D.D.,  says:  "'Rock  of  Ages'  was 
taught  me  by  my  mother  when  a  child 
upon  her  knee.  It  is  the  first  hymn  or 
song  of  any  kind  my  heart  ever  knew 
or  my  lips  ever  tried  to  lisp.  My  Chris- 
tian Ufe  began  with  'Rock  of  Ages,' 
and  may  it  end  in  being  hid  in  Him." 


143 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

An  English  friend  has  kindly  fur- 
nished the  following  interesting  inci- 
dent: "Many  years  ago,  during  a 
heated  discussion  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, an  opponent  of  William  E.  Glad- 
stone was  attacking  him  with  words  of 
unusual  severity,  and  he  was  observed 
to  be  writing  diligently,  apparently 
framing  a  reply.  A  friend,  seated 
near  him,  was  curious  to  learn  how  it  was 
that  his  leader  so  successfully  preserved 
his  calm  repose  under  such  a  torrent  of 
invective.  Looking  over  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's shoulder,  he  found  him  busily 
engaged  in  translating  into  Latin 
*  Rock  of  Ages,'  his  favourite  hymn. 
Fortunately,  this  translation  has  been 
preserved. 

"  '  lesusy  pro  me  perforatusy 
Condar  intra  tuum  latus, 
Tu  per  lympham  profluentemy 
Tu  per  sangumem  tepentem, 
In  peccata  mi  redunda, 
Tolle  culpamy  sordes  munda. 

144 


ROCK    OF    AGES 

*'  *  Coram  te  nee  iustus  forerrit 
Quamvis  tota  vi  laborerriy 
Nee  si  fide  nunquam  cessOy 
Fletu  stillans  indefesso; 
Tibi  soli  tantum  munus; 
Salva  mey  Salvator  unus! 

**  *  Nil  in  manu  mecum  fero, 
Sed  me  versus  crucem  gero; 
Vestimenta  nudus  oroy 
Opem  dehilis  imploro; 
Fontem  Christi  qucero  immundwSy 
Nisi  laveSy  moribundus. 

*'  *  Dum  hos  artus  vita  regit; 
Quando  nox  sepulchro  tegit; 
Mortuos  cum  stare  tubes y 
Sedens  index  inter  nubes; 
lesusy  pro  me  perforatuSy 
Condar  intra  tuum  latus,*  " 

Gladstone  also  translated  this  hymn 
into  Greek  and  Italian.  At  the  end  of 
a  noble  life,  which  had  been  devoted  to 
the  best  interests  of  his  fellowmen,  he 
had  this  hymn  sung  to  him,  and  found 
his  most  comforting  hope  in  the  lines: 

"  Nothing  in  my  hand  I  bring, 
Simply  to  Thy  cross  I  cling." 
10  145 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

All  who  attempt  to  translate  this 
beautiful  hymn  into  other  languages  are 
not  so  happy  in  their  effort  as  was  Mr. 
Gladstone.  A  missionary  in  India 
writes  that  he  employed  a  Hindoo 
scholar  to  assist  him  in  translating 
"  Rock  of  Ages  "  into  the  vernacular. 
His  surprise  may  be  imagined  when  he 
read,  as  the  result  of  the  effort  of  the 
learned  Oriental,  the  first  two  lines: 

"  Very  old  stone,  split  for  my  benefit, 
Let  me  get  under  one  of  your  fragments." 

This  hymn  was  a  favourite  with 
Prince  Albert,  the  husband  of  Queen 
Victoria,  and  when  he  lay  dying  in 
Windsor  Castle  in  1861,  almost  his  last 
word;s  were:  "  I  have  had  wealth,  power, 
and  fame,  but  if  these  were  all  that  I 
had  had,  what  would  I  have  now? " 
And  then  he  was  heard  repeating  softly 
and  reverently, 

"  Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  me, 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  Thee.'* 

146 


ROCK    OF    AGES 

When  the  steamship  "  London  "  went 
to  her  doom  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay  in 
1866,  the  last  sounds  borne  over  the 
waters  to  those  who  succeeded  in  mak- 
ing their  escape  were  not  wails  of  de- 
spair, but  the  brave,  hopeful  prayer 
voiced  in  the  words  of  this  immortal 
hymn. 

Dr.  S.  S.  Pomeroy  states  that  in  an 
Armenian  church  in  Constantinople  he 
was  deeply  moved  by  hearing  a  Turk- 
ish translation  of  this  hymn  sung,  and 
by  seeing  many  of  the  worshippers 
singing  with  eyes  filled  with  tears. 

An  incident  somewhat  similar  is  re- 
lated of  the  celebration  of  the  golden 
jubilee  of  Queen  Victoria,  when  rep- 
resentatives from  every  land  came  to 
congratulate  her  on  her  long  and  pros- 
perous reign.  Among  these  was  a  native 
of  Madagascar.  After  conveying  his 
good  wishes  to  the  Queen,  he  suggested 
that,  if  agreeable,  he  would  like  to  sing 
to  her.    Naturally,  it  was  expected  that 

147 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

he  would  sing  one  of  his  native  songs, 
but,  to  the  surprise  of  all,  he  sang 
"  Rock  of  Ages."  The  Rev.  Duncan 
Morrison,  of  Owen  Sound,  Canada, 
who  was  present,  writes: 

"  There  was  profound  and  awkward 
silence  which  was  difficult  to  break,  for 
many  were  affected  to  tears  in  seeing 
the  coming  back  of  seed  sown  on  the 
waters  in  missionary  faith  and  zeal.  All 
were  taken  by  surprise,  little  expecting 
to  hear  from  the  lips  of  the  Hova  on 
this  grand  occasion  the  sweetest  of  all 
the  songs  of  Zion.  The  venerable  man 
took  delight  in  telling  his  hearers  that 
this  one  song  had  been  very  close  to  his 
heart  and  had  enabled  him  to  while 
away  many  a  weary  hour  in  his  pilgrim- 
age through  life." 

General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  the  famous 
Confederate  cavalry  leader,  received  a 
mortal  wound  at  Yellow  Tavern,  Vir- 
ginia, and  died  in  a  hospital  in  Rich- 
mond on  the  12th  of  May,   1864,  at 

148 


ROCK    OF    AGES 

the  age  of  thirty-one.  When  his  old 
minister,  to  whom  he  was  devotedly 
attached,  came  to  see  him,  he  requested 
that  "  Rock  of  Ages  "  be  sung.  The 
young  General  joined  in  the  hymn, 
but  soon  his  voice  faltered  and  failed. 
"I  feel,"  he  whispered,  "that  I  am 
going  fast.  I  am  ready.  God's  will 
be  done."  And  with  the  words  of  the 
precious  hymn  still  ringing  in  his  ears, 
he  passed  on  to  join  the  heavenly  com- 
pany who  have  "  washed  their  robes 
and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb." 

The  following  incident  admirably 
illustrates  the  spirit  of  the  hymn:  "  The 
noble  old  song  has  had  a  new  meaning 
to  me  since  an  experience  a  friend  and  I 
had  one  summer  evening  going  from 
Grand  Portage,  Lake  Superior,  to  Isle 
Royal,  twenty  miles  out  in  the  lake. 
We  started  with  a  fair  breeze,  and  our 
two  boatmen  assured  us  that  we  would 
have  a  short  and  pleasant  run  to  the 

149 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

island.  But  when  about  half  way  over, 
the  wind  failed ;  and  calm,  like  the  peace 
of  God,  was  in  the  air  and  on  the  lake. 
Evening  was  coming  on,  and  the  only- 
thing  to  do  was  to  take  the  oars,  if 
we  did  not  wish  to  spend  the  night  on 
the  water.  But  it  was  slow  work,  even 
for  the  four  of  us,  to  row  that  heavy 
sailboat.  The  sun  went  down,  leaving  a 
great  glory  of  red  and  gold  on  lake  and 
sky  that  presently  faded  away,  and 
darkness  came  on.  Far  away  to  the 
northeast  a  light  gleamed  in  the  dark- 
ness like  a  star;  it  was  the  light  at 
Thunder  Bay. 

"  The  boatmen  began  to  worry. 
*  We  are  right  in  the  track  of  the  big 
boats  to  and  from  Port  Arthur,'  they 
said,  '  and  we  have  no  lights  and  may 
be  run  down  at  any  time.'  Here  was 
cause  to  be  anxious,  indeed.  Presently, 
one  of  the  men  said,  *  If  we  can  only 
get  inside  the  Rock  of  Ages,  we  '11  be 
all  right.' 

150 


ROCK    OF    AGES 

"  *  Rock  of  Ages? '  my  friend  and  I 
both  asked ;  '  what  is  it  and  where  is 
it?' 

"  *  It  is  a  big  rock  three  miles  west  of 
Washington  Harbour,  on  the  island. 
The  big  boats  all  keep  outside  of  it.' 

"  We  were  silent  for  a  time,  the  only- 
sound  being  the  noise  of  the  oars  in  the 
rowlocks  and  in  the  water.  And  then 
my  friend  began  to  sing  softly: 

" '  Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  me, 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  Thee.' 

"  Suddenly  one  of  the  men  said: 
*  There  it  is;  we  're  all  right  now! '  By 
looking  closely,  I  could  make  out  in  the 
darkness,  on  the  right,  a  darker  spot. 
The  boatmen  said  it  was  the  rock,  and 
that  we  were  now  safe. 

" '  What  is  that  verse,'  said,  my 
friend,  '  in  Isaiah  about  the  Rock  of 
Ages?  Trust  ye  in  Jehovah  f-^rever: 
for  in  Jehovah,  even  Jehovah,  is  a  Rock 
of  Ages.    We  have  had  a  fine  illustra- 

151 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

tion  of  that  text.  Outside  that  rock 
yonder  we  were  in  constant  danger;  in 
here,  we  are  in  perfect  safety,  and  get- 
ting nearer  the  harbour  every  moment. 
So  we  are  safe  or  unsafe  as  we  trust  or 
distrust  our  Rock  of  Ages.'  " 

The  Rev.  Edwin  M.  Rice,  D.D., 
Editor  of  the  American  Sunday-school 
Union,  has  this  interesting  statement 
to  make  concerning  the  school  attended 
by  Toplady:  "  Several  of  the  hymn- 
writers  of  the  widest  fame  and  popu- 
larity in  the  past  century  or  two  have 
been  educated  at  one  institution  —  the 
Westminster  School,  England,  chiefly 
St.  Peter's  College,  Westminster.  That 
sweet  singer,  George  Herbert,  entered 
the  school  as  a  '  King's  scholar  '  in  1604. 
The  famous  author  of  '  Jesus,  Lover  of 
My  Soul,'  Charles  Wesley,  entered  the 
school  in  1721,  as  a  '  Town  boy,'  and 
became  captain  of  the  school  in  1725. 
The  author  of  '  Rock  of  Ages,'  A.  M. 
Toplady,  was  a  scholar  there  in  1756. 

152 


ROCK    OF    AGES 

John  Austin,  who  m  his  youth  wrote 
'  Hark,  My  Soul,'  was  in  the  same 
school  in  1640.  The  great  poet  laure- 
ate, John  Dryden,  carved  his  name  on 
a  form  there  when  a  lad,  the  name  and 
form  being  still  carefully  preserved. 
But  the  more  durable  impression  was 
made  when  he  wrote,  *  Creator,  Spirit 
By  Whose  Aid.'  The  author  of  '  God 
moves  in  a  mysterious  way,'  William 
Cowper,  was  also  a  student  here.  Bap- 
tist W.  Noel,  Joseph  Anstice,  G.  E. 
Cotton,  Gerald  Phillimore,  William 
Waterfield,  and  others,  who  have  made 
helpful  contributions  to  hymnology, 
have  attended  this  school;  indeed,  so 
many  writers  of  hymns  have  attended 
St.  Peter's  College  that  it  has  been 
called  a  *  School  of  Hymn-writers,'  and 
it  well  deserves  the  name." 


153 


VIII 

A  MIGHTY  FORTRESS  IS 
OUR  GOD 


13  misf)tj>  fortresisf  ig  our  <§ob, 

^  tjultoark  neber  failing ; 
0\xx  helper  ||e  amib  t^e  floob 

(j^f  mortal  illjf  prebailins : 
Jfor  fiitill  our  ancient  foe 
IBoti)  &nk  to  bork  us(  tooe ; 
Jl^ijf  craft  anb  poiuer  are  great, 
l^nb,  armeb  toitfj  cruel  fjate, 

0n  eartft  isi  not  fjisi  equal. 

Miis  be  in  our  oton  j^trengtb  conftbe, 
C^ur  sitribing  tDoulb  tie  losiing ; 

OTere  not  tJje  rigfjt  jHan  on  our  Hitt, 
W^t  i¥lan  of  <§ob'£i  oton  cf)00£(ing ; 

Bos(t  as(k  b3f)o  tbat  map  lie  7 

Cfjrigt  f  esfug,  itisf  J|el 

ilorb  ^abaott  W^  name, 

Jf rom  age  to  age  tfje  game ; 
^x(t  J^t  muflit  iiiin  tfte  battle. 

^nh  tfjougli  tW  toorlb,  toitt)  bebilsi  f illeb, 
^toulb  tfireaten  to  unbo  ni ; 

OTe  toill  not  fear,  for  #ob  t^tfj  tx^iVitb 
J^i^  trutf)  to  triumpfj  tljrougft  us; ; 

Clje  prince  of  barknes^si  grim,  — 

Wit  tremble  not  for  Ijim; 

^{^  rage  toe  can  enbure, 

Jf or  lo !  ^^  boom  i^  sJure, 
(Bxit  little  hjorb  gljall  fell  fjim. 

157 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Cfiat  hjortr  abobe  aE  eartijlp  potoere;, 
Mo  tfjanksi  to  tfjem,  abibetf) ; 

Cfje  Spirit  anb  tije  gifts:  are  oursf, 
^fjrougf)  Wrti  toijo  toitb  ujS  sJibetft ; 

ILtt  goob£(  anb  kinbreb  go, 

Ki)isi  mortal  life  alsio ; 

Wf)t  bobp  tfjep  map  feill : 

#ob*s;  trutf)  abibetft  sHiU, 
His;  kinsbom  tsi  f oreber. 


168 


A  MIGHTY  FORTRESS  IS 
OUR  GOD 


HE  world  knows  Martin 
Luther  as  a  reformer; 
comparatively  few  know 
him  as  a  musician  and 
hymnologist. 
Destined  to  give  to  the  German 
people,  in  their  own  tongue,  the  Bible, 
the  Catechism,  and  the  hjmin-book,  he 
was  born  of  peasant  parents  in  Eis- 
leben,  at  the  foot  of  the  Hartz  Moun- 
tains, Saxony,  November  10,  1483,  and 
died  in  the  same  town  February  18, 
1546,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  his  age. 
He  was  possessed  of  a  sweet  voice  of 
much  compass  and  power,  and  in  his 
youth  followed,  through  necessity,  a 
well-known  German  custom  of  singing 
songs  and  carols  from  door  to  door. 
"  I  used  to  beg,"  he  writes,  "  with  my 
companions,  for  a  little  food,  that  we 
might  have  the  means  of  providing  for 

159 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

our  wants.  At  the  time  the  Church  cele- 
brates the  festival  of  Christ's  nativity, 
we  went  wandering  through  the  neigh- 
bouring villages,  going  from  house  to 
house,  and  singing,  in  four  parts,  the 
carols  of  the  infant  Jesus." 

He  was  a  lover  of  birds  and  flowers, 
and  was  passionately  fond  of  music, 
folklore,  and  song.  He  was  fortunate 
enough  to  become  a  member  of  the 
church  choir  and  thereby  gained  tui- 
tion in  music  free.  Years  afterward, 
he  wrote:  "  I  place  music  next  to  the- 
ology. I  can  see  why  David  and  all 
the  saints  put  their  diviner  thoughts  in 
song." 

A  woman  of  some  means,  hearing 
him  sing,  gave  him  a  home  and  finally 
made  it  possible  for  him,  in  1501,  to 
enter  the  University  of  Erfurt,  where 
he  excelled  in  Latin,  eloquence,  and 
poetry.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he 
was  made  doctor  of  philosophy,  much 
to  the  gratification  of  his  fellow  stu- 

160 


A   MIGHTY    FORTRESS   IS    OUR    GOD 

dents,  who  celebrated  the  event  by  a 
great  torchhght  procession. 

He  became  an  Augustinian  monk 
in  1505,  and  a  priest  in  1507.  The 
following  year  he  was  appointed  a 
professor  in  the  University  of  Witten- 
berg. He  was  a  preacher  of  rare  power 
and  eloquence,  and  many  were  attracted 
to  him.  He  became  deeply  interested 
in  congregational  singing.  "  I  wish," 
he  said,  "  after  the  example  of  the 
prophets  and  the  ancient  fathers  of  the 
Church,  to  compose  German  Psalms  for 
the  people.  I  mean  sacred  hymns,  so 
that  the  Word  of  God  may  dwell 
among  the  people  also  by  means  of 
song."  Of  the  hymns  that  then  existed, 
nearly  all  were  in  Latin.  Some  of  these 
he  translated  and  altered.  He  also 
wrote  original  ones. 

Philip  SchafF  says:  "The  Psalter 
was  the  first  and  for  many  centuries 
the  only  hymn-book  of  the  Church.  It 
is  the  most  fruitful  source  of  Christian 

11  161 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

hymnology."  As  is  well  known,  the 
46th  Psalm  furnished  Luther  with  the 
keynote  of  his  matchless  hymn,  "  A 
Mighty  Fortress  Is  Our  God."  He 
published  his  first  hymn-book  in  1524. 
It  contained  but  eight  compositions, 
four  of  which  were  his  own.  From  this 
humble  source  have  flowed  the  thousands 
of  song  books  which  since  have  been 
published  throughout  the  world.  With- 
in twenty  years  after  the  first  edition 
was  issued,  at  least  one  hundred  and 
seventeen  collections  by  him  and  his 
associates  had  been  printed. 

One  writes :  "  Luther  was  what  to- 
day would  be  described  as  a  profound 
connoisseur  in  music,  and  at  the  same 
time  a  practical  musician.  To  his  nat- 
ural musical  gifts,  and  these  were  of  a 
rich  order,  we  must  add  an  erudite 
and  philosophical  culture,  an  extensive 
knowledge  of  men  and  things,  and 
above  all  a  large  heart  and  the  inventive 
perception  of  a  genius.     It  was  this 

162 


A    MIGHTY    FORTRESS    IS    OUR    GOD 

universal  knowledge  that  enabled  Lu- 
ther to  enter  into  the  high  mission  of 
art  more  thoroughly  than  the  average 
musician." 

Heinrich  Heine  says :  "  Not  less  re- 
markable, not  less  significant  than  his 
prose  writings,  are  Luther's  poems, 
those  stirring  songs  which  escaped  from 
him  in  the  very  midst  of  his  combats  and 
his  necessities,  like  a  flower  making  its 
way  from  between  rough  stones,  or  a 
sunbeam  gleaming  mid  dark  clouds." 
While  Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge  writes : 
"  In  Germany  the  hymns  are  known  by 
heart  by  every  peasant;  they  advise, 
they  argue  from  the  hymns,  and  every 
soul  in  the  Church  praises  God  like  a 
Christian,  with  words  which  are  natural 
and  yet  sacred  to  his  mind." 

Along  the  same  line.  Cardinal 
Thomas-a-Jesu  wrote  in  the  sixteenth 
century:  "  The  interests  of  Luther  are 
furthered,  in  an  extraordinary  degree, 
by  the  singing  of  his  hymns  by  people 

163 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

of  every  class,  not  only  in  the  schools 
and  churches,  but  in  dwellings  and 
shops,  in  markets,  streets  and  fields." 

As  an  illustration  of  the  wonderful 
power  of  Luther's  hymns  over  the 
German  mind,  a  writer  gives  this  inci- 
dent in  connection  with  the  city  of  Han- 
over :  "It  appears,"  he  says,  "  that  the 
Reformaton  was  first  introduced  there, 
not  by  the  voice  of  the  preacher,  nor  by 
the  reading  of  religious  treatises,  but 
by  the  hymns  of  Martin  Luther.  These 
the  people  sang  with  delight,  and  the 
saving  truths  they  taught  touched  their 
hearts." 

By  means  of  wandering  school- 
masters, mechanics,  and  the  students 
who  attended  Wittenberg,  these  hymns 
became  widely  scattered  and  were  en- 
thusiastically received.  Spangenberg, 
who  was  living  at  this  time,  says: 
**  One  must  certainly  let  this  be  true 
and  remain  true,  that  among  all  the 
master  singers,  from  the  days  of  the 

164 


«- 


V?.''' 


^ 


A    MIGHTY    FORTRESS    IS    OUR    GOD 

apostles  until  now,  Luther  is  and  always 
will  be  the  best  and  most  accompHshed." 

Luther  wrote  some  thirty-seven 
hymns  and  Psalm  revisions,  and  these 
have  been  translated  into  many  lan- 
guages. His  masterpiece,  however,  was 
"  A  Mighty  Fortress  Is  Our  God,"  the 
great  battle-hymn  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, which  is  as  dear  to  the  German 
heart  as  the  Fatherland  itself,  each 
being  inseparably  associated  with  the 
other. 

In  times  of  special  trial,  Luther 
would  say  to  Melancthon:  "Come, 
Philip,  let  us  sing  the  46th  Psalm,"  and 
they  would  sing  it  from  his  version. 
After  Luther's  death,  Melancthon 
heard  a  little  girl  singing  the  hymn  in 
a  street  of  Weimar,  and  said  to  her: 
*'  Sing  on,  dear  child;  you  do  little  know 
whom  you  comfort." 

It  is  said  that  this  hymn  accomplished 
as  much  for  the  Reformation  as  did  the 
translation  of  the  Bible.     D'Aubigne 

165 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

says  that  during  these  fateful  and  for- 
mative days,  "  it  was  sung  in  all  the 
churches  of  Saxony,  and  its  energetic 
strains  often  revived  and  inspirited  the 
most  dejected  hearts."  It  was  sung  at 
Luther's  funeral,  and  its  first  line  is 
carved  on  his  tomb. 

In  1720,  a  remarkable  revival  was 
being  held  in  a  Moravian  town,  in  which 
David  Nitschman,  who  was  afterward 
the  founder  of  Bethlehem,  Pennsyl- 
vania, lived.  A  large  company  was 
gathered  at  his  house  when  the  officers 
of  the  law  broke  in  to  disperse  the 
meeting.  Nothing  daunted,  the  congre- 
gation began  singing  "  A  Mighty  Fort- 
ress." Many,  including  Nitschman, 
were  arrested  and  placed  in  jail.  He 
made  his  escape,  became  a  bishop,  and 
sailed  with  the  Wesleys  on  their  famous 
voyage  to  Savannah,  Georgia.  He  of- 
ficiated, in  1736,  at  what  was  the  first 
ordination  of  a  Protestant  bishop  in 
America.      He   visited   America   three 

166 


A    MIGHTY    FORTRESS    IS    OUR    GOD 

times,  and  finally  died  here  after  years 
of  splendid  service  for  others. 

The  hymn  was  a  source  of  much 
comfort  to  the  Huguenots  of  France 
between  1560  and  1572,  and  was  fre- 
quently sung  by  them  to  inspire  their 
zeal  and  courage.  It  was  first  pub- 
lished about  1527,  and  has  been  trans- 
lated at  least  eighty  times,  doubtless 
the  most  accurate  being  the  version  of 
Thomas  CarUsle,  in  1831.  That  of  Dr. 
Frederick  Henry  Hedge,  of  Harvard 
University,  in  1858,  beginning, 

"  A  mighty  fortress  is  our  God," 

is  the  most  popular  in  use  in  this 
country. 

Dr.  Louis  F.  Benson,  in  his  "  Studies 
of  Familiar  Hymns,"  has  this  excellent 
summing  up  of  the  widespread  use  and 
influence  of  this  immortal  composition: 

"  Such  a  hymn,  with  such  a  tune, 
spread  quickly,  as  may  well  be  believed ; 
*  quickly,  as  if  the  angels  had  been  the 

167 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

carriers/  one  enthusiastic  writer  has 
said.  But  they  were  men  and  not  angels 
who  spread  Luther's  hymn  of  faith 
and  courage  from  heart  to  heart  and 
from  Hp  to  Hp.  It  thrilled  them  like  a 
trumpet  blast,  encouraging  the  faint- 
hearted and  nerving  the  brave  to  fight 
the  battle  of  the  Lord.  It  was,  as  Heine 
said,  the  Marseillaise  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. It  was  sung  at  Augsburg  during 
the  Diet,  and  in  all  the  churches  of  Sax- 
ony, often  against  the  protest  of  the 
priest.  It  was  sung  in  the  streets ;  and, 
so  heard,  comforted  the  hearts  of  Me- 
lancthon,  Jonas,  and  Cruciger,  as  they 
entered  Weimar,  when  banished  from 
Wittenberg  in  1547.  It  was  sung  by 
poor  Protestant  emigrants  on  their  way 
into  exile,  and  by  martyrs  at  their  death. 
It  is  woven  into  the  web  of  the  history 
of  Reformation  times,  and  it  became 
the  true  national  hymn  of  Protestant 
Germany.  Gustavus  Adolphus  ordered 
it  sung  by  his  army  before  the  battle  of 

168 


A    MIGHTY    FORTRESS    IS    OUR    GOD 

Leipzig,  in  1631,  and  on  the  field  of  that 
battle  it  was  repeated,  more  than  two 
centuries  afterwards,  by  the  throng  as- 
sembled at  the  jubilee  of  the  Gustavus 
Adolphus  Association.  Again,  it  was 
the  battle  hymn  of  his  army  at  Liitzen, 
in  1632,  in  which  the  King  was  slain, 
but  his  army  won  the  victory.  It  has 
had  a  part  in  countless  celebrations  com- 
memorating the  men  and  events  of  the 
Reformation;  and  its  first  line  is  en- 
graved on  the  base  of  Luther's  monu- 
ment at  Wittenberg.  And  it  is  still 
dear  to  the  German  people,  one  of  the 
hymns  lodged  in  their  memories  and 
hearts,  ready  for  the  occasion.  An  im- 
perishable hymn!  not  polished  and  ar- 
tistically wrought,  but  rugged  and 
strong  like  Luther  himself,  whose  very 
words  seem  like  deeds." 

Percy  S.  Foster  writes :  "  One  of  the 
most  inspiring  sights  I  ever  witnessed 
was  at  the  Christian  Endeavor  Con- 
vention in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  July,  1901, 

1G9 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

when  the  German  societies  sang,  in  their 
own  language,  as  their  consecration 
hymn,  '  A  Mighty  Fortress  Is  Our 
God/  It  thrilled  the  entire  assem- 
blage as  nothing  else  did." 

"  Whenever  I  hear  Luther's  great 
hymn,"  said  the  Rev.  Wallace  Howe 
Lee,  LL.D.,  of  Seattle,  Washington, 
"  I  always  think  of  a  soldier  armed  for 
the  fray,  riding  on  a  fiery  horse  in  tri- 
umph." And  in  much  the  same  spirit 
another  writes :  "  I  learned  this  hymn 
while  in  the  seminary,  and  liked  it  from 
the  first.  It  stirs  me  like  a  drum  stirs 
an  old  soldier.  It  is  a  hymn  of  trium- 
phant faith  and  should  be  sung 
oftener." 

W.  T.  Stead  gives  this  interesting 
incident:  "  Cassell's  History  of  the 
Franco- German  war  describes  how,  the 
day  after  the  battle  of  Sedan,  a  multi- 
tude of  German  troops,  who  were  on 
the  march  for  Paris,  found  it  impossible 
to   sleep,   wearied   though   they   were. 

170 


A    MIGHTY    FORTRESS    IS    OUR    GOD 

They  were  billeted  in  the  parish  church 
of  Augecourt.  The  excitement  of  the 
day  had  been  too  great ;  the  memory  of 
the  bloody  fight  and  their  fallen  com- 
rades mingled  strangely  with  pride  of 
victory  and  the  knowledge  that  they  had 
rescued  their  country  from  the  foe. 
Suddenly  in  the  twilight  and  the  still- 
ness a  strain  of  melody  proceeded  from 
the  organ  —  at  first  softly,  very  softly, 
and  then  with  ever-increasing  force  — 
the  grand  old  hymn-tune,  familiar  to 
every  German  ear,  '  Nun  danket  alle 
Gott,'  swelled  along  the  vaulted  aisles. 
With  one  voice  officers  and  men  joined 
in  the  holy  strains ;  and  when  the  hymn 
was  ended,  the  performer,  a  simple 
villager,  came  forward  and  delivered 
a  short,  simple,  heartfelt  speech.  Then 
turning  again  to  the  organ,  he  struck 
up  Luther's  old  hymn,  '  Ein  f  este 
Burg  ist  unser  Gott,'  and  again  all 
joined  with  heart  and  voice.  The  ter- 
rible strain  on  their  systems,  which  had 

171 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

tried  their  weary  souls  and  had  ban- 
ished slumber  from  their  eyes,  was  now 
removed,  and  they  laid  themselves  down 
with  thankful  hearts  and  sought  and 
found  the  rest  they  so  much  needed." 

"  In  connection  with  Luther's  great 
hymn,"  remarked  Professor  Charles  R. 
Erdman,  D.D.,  of  Princeton  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  "  I  cannot  forget 
the  inspiring  effect  with  which  it  was 
rendered  by  a  great  chorus  of  male 
voices  at  Princeton  University  on  the 
occasion  of  the  four  hundredth  anniver- 
sary of  Luther's  birth.  Ever  since  then 
it  has  been  increasingly  popular  with 
Princeton  students,  and  I  think  I  can 
safely  say  that  it  is  the  favourite  hymn 
in  that  University." 

The  following  interesting  story  is 
copied  from  the  Youth's  Companion: 
"  At  a  terrible  accident  in  the  coal  mines 
near  Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  several 
men  were  buried  for  three  days  and  all 
efforts  to  rescue  them  had  proved  un- 
\n 


A    MIGHTY    FORTRESS    IS    OUR    GOD 

successful.  The  majority  of  the  miners 
were  Germans.  They  were  in  a  state  of 
intense  excitement,  caused  by  sympathy 
for  the  wives  and  children  of  the  buried 
men  and,  despair  at  their  own  balked 
efforts. 

"  A  great  mob  of  ignorant  men  and 
women  assembled  at  the  mouth  of  the 
mine  on  the  evening  of  the  third  day, 
in  a  condition  of  high  nervous  tension 
which  fitted  them  for  any  mad  act.  A 
sullen  murmur  arose  that  it  was  folly  to 
dig  farther,  that  the  men  were  dead; 
and  this  was  followed  by  cries  of  rage 
at  the  rich  mine  owners,  who  were  in  no 
way  responsible  for  the  accident. 

"  A  hasty  word  or  gesture  might  have 
produced  an  outbreak  of  fury.  Stand- 
ing near  was  a  little  German  girl,  per- 
haps eleven  years  old.  Her  pale  face 
and  frightened  glances  from  side  to  side 
showed  that  she  fully  understood  the 
danger  of  the  moment.  Suddenly,  with 
a  great  effort,  she  began  to  sing  in  a 

173 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

hoarse  whisper  which  could  not  be 
heard.  Then  she  gained  courage,  and 
her  sweet,  childish  voice  rang  out  in 
Luther's  grand  old  hymn,  familiar  to 
every  German  from  his  cradle: 

" '  A  mighty  fortress  is  our  God.* 

"  There  was  a  silence  like  death. 
Then  one  voice  joined  the  girl's,  and 
presently  another  and  another,  until 
from  the  whole  great  multitude  rose  the 
solemn  words  of  the  hymn.  A  great 
quiet  seemed  to  fall  upon  the  hearts  of 
all.  They  resumed  their  work  with 
fresh  zeal,  and  before  morning  the  joy- 
ful cry  came  up  from  the  pit  that  the 
men  were  found  —  alive." 

When  the  four  hundredth  anniver- 
sary of  the  birth  of  Luther  was  cele- 
brated in  the  Philadelphia  Academy  of 
Music,  the  great  building  was  thronged, 
and  "A  Mighty  Fortress,"  led  by  an 
immense  band,  was  sung  in  seven  dif- 
ferent languages  at  the  same  time.    It 

174 


A    MIGHTY    FORTRESS    IS    OUR    GOD 

was,  of  course,  a  perfect  babel  of  sound, 
but  the  effect  was  wonderful.  So 
grandly  was  it  sung,  with  such  match- 
less harmony,  unity,  and  solemnity,  that 
it  stirred  the  vast  audience  to  tears  and 
to  the  utmost  pitch  of  enthusiasm.  To 
those  who  were  present  it  is  little  wonder 
that  the  hymn  bore  an  important  part  in 
nerving  the  German  soldiers  to  deeds  of 
desperate  daring,  when  sung  on  the  eve 
of  battle ;  or  that  it  should  be  used  as  a 
great  thanksgiving  psalm  when  the 
victory  was  won. 

"  A  little  company  of  missionaries," 
writes  the  Reverend  Charles  G.  Lewis, 
of  the  China  Inland  Mission,  "  in  south- 
west China  during  the  Boxer  outrages 
of  the  summer  of  1900,  found  them- 
selves in  circumstances  which  led  to  a 
fuller  and  deeper  appreciation  of  Lu- 
ther's noble  hymn  than  they  had  ever 
had  before.  Situated  two  thousand 
miles  inland,  and  seven  days'  journey 
from  our  nearest  neighbours,  we  found 

175 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

ourselves  cut  off  from  all  communica- 
tion. After  waiting  for  light  and  guid- 
ance, we  attempted  flight  through  the 
southern  provinces,  but  only  to  discover, 
after  journeying  several  days,  that  all 
roads  in  that  direction  were  closed.  Re- 
turning to  our  station,  we  determined 
to  await  the  uncertainties  of  the 
situation  rather  than  attempt  further 
travelling.  Knowing  something  of  the 
fate  of  many  of  our  brethren  else- 
where, we  realised  full  well  what  might 
be  ours  also.  To  flee  seemed  to  run 
into  certain  danger;  to  sit  still  seemed 
as  certainly  to  invite  it.  What  to  do 
was  no  easy  thing  to  settle.  It  was 
during  these  days  that  Luther's  hymn, 
*A  Mighty  Fortress  Is  Our  God,' 
took  on  new  meaning  to  us,  and 
our  hearts  received  fresh  strength  and 
courage  as  we  realised,  as  never  before, 
how  the  Lord's  people  in  other  days 
found  in  our  God  *  a  mighty  fortress ' 
from  every  danger." 

176 


A    MIGHTY    FORTRESS    IS    OUR    GOD 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  mis- 
sionaries in  Paoutingfu,  China,  were 
not  so  fortunate  as  those  of  the  Inland 
Mission,  all  of  them  being  killed  at  their 
post.  An  impressive  memorial  service 
was  held  on  the  23d  of  March,  1901,  on 
the  very  spot  in  Paoutingfu  where  the 
tragedies  of  the  preceding  June  had 
occurred.  Among  those  present  were 
German,  French,  and  Chinese  officials, 
and  a  fine  German  band  belonging  to 
the  brigade.  The  services  were  of  the 
most  solemn  and  tender  character,  and 
nothing  could  have  been  more  grandly 
impressive  than  the  rendering  of  "  A 
Mighty  Fortress  Is  Our  God." 

Kostlin  has  well  written:  "This 
hymn  is  Luther  in  song.  It  is  pitched  in 
the  very  key  of  the  man.  Rugged  and 
majestic,  trustful  in  God,  and  confi- 
dent, it  was  the  defiant  trumpet-blast  of 
the  Reformation,  speaking  out  to  the 
powers  of  the  earth  and  under  the  earth, 
an  all-conquering  conviction  of  divine 

12  ITT 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

vocation  and  empowerment.  The  world 
has  many  sacred  songs  of  exquisite  ten- 
derness and  unalterable  trust,  but  this 
one  of  Luther's  is  matchless  in  its  war- 
like tone,  its  rugged  strength,  and  its 
inspiring  ring." 

There  is  need  of  more  of  such  inspir- 
ing productions,  full-voiced  with  faith, 
devotion,  and  courage,  to  help  us  in  our 
efforts  to  "  make  our  manhood  mightier 
day  by  day." 


1T8 


IX 

NEARER,  MY  GOD,  TO  THEE 


H^^'i-r-i^-                  " ■ 

^H 

if 

V 

,.\ 

■    ••  ■,.-«^.             t 

CAUL   0«L£K    NEVLflrJ      ,4  03-- 

OR    IF    ON    JOYFUL    WING    CLEAVING    THE    SKY, 
SUN,  MOON  AND  STARS   FORGOT,  UPWARDS  I  FLY. 


iSearer,  mp  (^ob,  to  Cfjee, 

i^earer  to  tlTfjee  I 
€*en  tjousl)  it  tie  a  crosisJ 

tlTfiat  rais;ctfj  me ; 
^ttU  all  mp  sions  s({)all  be, 
iSearer,  mp  <^oti,  to  Cfjee, 

Jgearer  to  tlTfteel 

CJousJ)  lifee  tlje  toanlierer, 
Kf)t  gun  gone  boton, 

Jiarfenesis;  be  3bet  me, 
iHp  tegt  a  gtone ; 

get  in  mp  breams;  3J  *b  be 

fearer,  mp  <§ob,  to  ^fjee, 
fearer  to  ^bee  I 

tlCbere  let  tbe  toap  appear, 
^tepgunto  Jleaben; 

lail  tbat  Cbou  genb^sit  to  me 
in  mere?  giben : 

Jingels;  to  becbon  me 

fearer,  mj>  <§ob,  to  tIDbee, 
ilearer  to  W^tt  I 

Cften,  toitf}  mj>  hjabmg  tbougbtsf 
JBrigbt  bJitb  ^bp  praijse, 

(l^ut  of  mp  istonp  griefs; 
5B^etbel5nirais;e; 

181 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

^0  h^  mp  h)oe£(  to  be 
fearer,  mp  (§ob,  to  K^tt, 
ilearer  to  ^Ijee ! 

<^t  if  on  jopful  tDtns 

Cleabing  tfje  sifep, 
^un,  moon,  anb  sftarjf  forgot* 

^toarbg  3J  a?, 
&ttU  all  mp  sions  £(tall  be* 
fearer,  mp  ^ob,  to  Cljee, 

Jtearer  to  tE^fjee  I 


183 


NEARER,  MY  GOD,  TO  THEE 

LIZA  and  Sarah  Flower 
were  gifted  English  sis- 
ters, whose  early  lives 
began  and  ended  between 
the  opening  and  the  close 
of  the  first  half  of  the  last  century;  and 
yet  in  that  brief  period  both  left  their 
impress  on  their  generation;  and  the 
younger,  Sarah,  achieved  undying 
fame  by  composing  the  beautiful  hymn, 
"  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee." 

The  meeting  and  courtship  of  their 
parents  were  romantic.  Benjamin 
Flower  was^  a  bright  young  fellow 
whose  business  frequently  called  him 
to  France,  and  he  became  early  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  the  French  Revolu- 
tion. Afterward  he  became  the  Editor 
of  the  Cambridge  Intelligencer,  and 
for  defending  in  its  columns  the  French 
Revolution,  and  for  real  or  imaginary 
reflections  on  the  English  constitution, 

183 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

he  was  brought  to  trial  in  1799,  and 
was  sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  and  to  spend 
six  months  in  the  famous  or  infamous 
Newgate  Prison. 

During  his  imprisonment  Miss  Ehza 
Gould,  an  enthusiastic  young  woman 
of  culture,  whose  soul  was  fired  with 
indignation  at  the  injustice  of  his  pun- 
ishment, called  upon  him  to  express 
sympathy.  They  proved  to  be  con- 
genial spirits;  the  strangers  became 
friends,  the  friends  lovers,  and  soon 
after  his  release  they  were  married. 
Two  daughters  were  born  to  them,  and 
in  1810  the  mother,  never  strong,  went 
to  her  reward.  The  training  and  edu- 
cation of  the  children  devolved  upon 
the  father,  and  right  nobly  did  he  meet 
this  added  responsibihty.  Both  girls 
were  unusually  talented  —  Eliza  as  a 
composer  of  music,  and  Sarah  as  a 
composer  of  verse. 

In  1834,  Sarah  married  Wilham 
Bridges  Adams,  a  civil  engineer.     In 

184 


NEARER,    MY    GOD,    TO    THEE 

person  she  was  tall  and  remarkably 
beautiful,  and  her  manners  were  charm- 
ing. Believing  that  the  stage  might  be 
made  to  perform  an  important  service, 
in  connection  with  the  pulpit,  in  elevat- 
ing mankind,  she  essayed  to  act,  with 
the  approval  of  her  husband,  the  char- 
acter of  Lady  Macbeth.  Although 
she  met  with  considerable  success,  she 
soon  learned  that  the  demands  were  far 
too  severe  for  her  physical  powers,  so 
she  turned  her  attention  to  literature. 
She  wrote  a  number  of  poems  of  rare 
sweetness  and  power.  "  Nearer,  my 
God,  to  Thee,"  suggested  by  the  story 
of  Jacob's  vision  at  Bethel,  as  found 
in  Genesis  28 :  10-22,  was  first  pub- 
lished in  1841;  and  although  it  met 
with  some  favour,  it  was  not  until  1860 
that  Dr.  Lowell  Mason's  beautiful  and 
sympathetic  music  "  quickened  it  into 
glorious  life "  and  gave  it  a  perma- 
nent abiding-place  in  the  hearts  of  the 
people.     In  the  great  Peace  Jubilee, 

185 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

held  in  Boston  in  1872,  this  hymn  was 
sung  by  nearly  fifty  thousand  voices. 
Dr.  Mason,  then  in  his  eighty-first  year, 
was  present,  and  was  delighted  with 
the  matchless  melody.  He  died  the 
following  August. 

Mrs.  Adams  died  in  1848,  at  the  age 
of  forty-three,  two  years  after  the 
death  of  her  sister  Eliza,  who  died 
unmarried,  at  the  same  age. 

Many  and  interesting  are  the  stories 
told  in  connection  with  the  usefulness 
of  this  hymn,  which  has  been  an  inspira- 
tion wherever  the  Christian  religion  has 
gone.  It  is  a  special  favourite  of  Miss 
Helen  Gould,  whose  sweet  winsome- 
ness  and  noble  charity  have  made  her 
one  of  the  best  loved  women  of  our 
land. 

It  was  sung  at  the  great  Christian 
Endeavor  Convention  held  in  Phila- 
delphia in  December,  1900,  a  choir  of 
fifteen  hundred  trained  voices,  under 
the  magnetic  direction  of  H.  C.  Lin- 

186 


NEARER,    MY    GOD,    TO    THEE 

coin,  leading  the  vast  multitude.  At  its 
close  President  Eberman  said,  thought- 
fully, "  I  wonder  if  we  shall  ever  listen 
to  such  singing  on  earth  again!  " 

"  When  the  officers  and  men  of  the 
North  Atlantic  Squadron,"  writes 
Chaplain  Wright,  "  assembled  on  the 
quarter  deck  of  the  battleship  '  Massa- 
chusetts,' at  the  memorial  service  for 
the  gun's  crew  killed  in  the  eight-inch 
turret,  the  most  toucliing  incident  was 
the  singing,  softly  and  reverently,  of 
*  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee.'  It  had 
been  the  favourite  hymn  of  several  of 
the  dead  men,  and  the  last  one  they  had 
sung,  for  we  had  closed  the  service  with 
it  two  nights  before  the  disaster.  Dur- 
ing an  experience  of  nearly  twenty 
years  in  the  Navy  I  have  found  the 
songs  that  last  the  best  with  the  men 
are  such  as  *  Just  As  I  Am,'  *  Abide 
With  Me,'  '  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee,' 
and  '  Sun  of  My  Soul.'  " 

"  I  have  heard,"  writes  Dr.  Floyd 

187 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Tomkins,  "  *  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee  ' 
sung  in  camp  with  a  brass  band,  and 
I  have  sung  it  alone  with  trembUng 
voice  when  kneehng  by  the  bedside  of 
the  dying,  and  it  has  ever  the  same 
message  of  peace." 

The  Rev.  Millard  F.  Troxell,  D.D., 
relates  this  experience :  "  The  beau- 
tiful August  day  was  warm  with  sun- 
shine along  the  lower  levels,  but  the 
three  train-loads  of  tourists  found  the 
summit  of  Pike's  Peak  enveloped  in 
mist  and  cloud  too  heavy  to  peer 
through,  so  that  for  an  hour  or  more 
we  gathered  about  the  fire  of  the  block- 
house and  tried  to  become  better  ac- 
quainted. It  was  suggested  that  we 
sing  some  popular  melody.  A  voice 
bravely  began  one  of  the  many  senti- 
mental songs  of  the  day,  but  few  knew 
enough  of  it  to  join  in,  so  the  singer 
was  left  to  finish  it  alone.  Then  some 
one  began  to  sing  softly  '  Nearer,  my 
God,  to  Thee,'  and  before  the  second 

188 


NEARER,    MY    GOD,    TO    THEE 

line  was  ended  it  seemed  as  if  all  who 
had  been  strangers  now  felt  at  home; 
and,  for  the  time  being,  the  place 
seemed  like  a  very  Bethel.  It  seemed, 
too,  as  if  the  clouds  were  parted  and 
lifted  by  the  singing,  for  when  a  little 
time  had  quickly  passed,  some  one  ex- 
claimed, *  Oh,  there  's  the  sunshine ! ' 
and  out  we  rushed  to  find  that  the 
mists  were  rolled  away,  and  before  us 
stretched  the  most  wonderful  of  views.'* 
On  one  occasion  three  distinguished 
travellers  in  Palestine  heard  in  the  dis- 
tance faint  snatches  of  a  familiar  tune, 
and  were  deeply  touched,  on  drawing 
nearer,  to  find  a  group  of  Syrian  stu- 
dents reverently  singing,  in  Arabic, 
"  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee."  One  of 
the  hearers,  in  relating  the  story,  said 
that  the  singing  of  the  hymn  by  these 
youthful  natives  moved  him  to  tears 
and  affected  him  more  deeply  than  any- 
thing of  the  kind  to  which  he  had  ever 
listened. 

189 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

The  Rev.  G.  B.  F.  Hallock,  D.D., 
thus  writes  of  his  visit  to  Bethel  on 
March  12,  1902 :  "  As  we  stood  there, 
where  heaven  had  once  come  so  near  to 
earth,  I  am  sure  that  there  was  not  one 
in  all  our  large  party  who  did  not  share, 
in  some  degree,  in  that  ladder  vision 
which  Jacob  had;  and  you  will  not  be 
surprised  to  know  that  we  fell  into  the 
mood  of  Mrs.  Sarah  Flower  Adams' 
ever-precious  hymn,  and,  without  a 
word  of  suggestion,  sang  together,  with 
deepest  feeling,  '  Nearer,  my  God,  to 
Thee ! '  Who  can  say  that  Jacob's 
vision  did  not  become  ours  as  we  softly 
chanted  the  trustful,  prayerful  words ! 

"Is  it  not  a  sweet  immortality  for 
this  Christian  poetess  that  her  song 
should  thus  linger  about  the  Holy 
Land,  the  stories  of  which  were  so  dear 
to  her,  and  continue  to  interpret  the 
worshipful  thoughts  of  Christian  trav- 
ellers long  after  she  herself  ceased  to 
sing  on  earth?    We  do  not  wonder  that 

190 


NEARER,    MY    GOD,    TO    THEE 

our  martyred  President  [McKinley] 
and  so  many  before  him  and  since,  loved 
and  do  love  this  beautiful  hymn.  We 
shall  ever  count  it  a  rare  privilege  that 
so  many  of  us  were  permitted  to  sing 
it  together  on  the  sacred  site  of  Bethel 
itself." 

A  pathetic  story  in  connection  v^ith 
this  hymn  is  told  of  an  heroic  woman 
whose  train  was  caught  in  the  great 
Johnstown  flood  of  1889.     Hopelessly 
imprisoned  by  the  rising  waters,   and 
with    death    surely    approaching,    she 
breathed  a  prayer  to  her  Maker,  and 
then,  with  a  voice  of  marvellous  trust- 
fulness,  began   singing   "Nearer,   my 
God,  to  Thee,"  while  hundreds,  unable 
to  help  her,  hstened  breathlessly.     Be- 
fore the  last  words  of  the  hymn  were 
reached  the  brave  voice  was  still  and 
the  singer  had  gone  to  be  with  "  those 
who  had  come  out  of  great  tribulation 
and  had  washed  their  robes  and  made 
them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb." 

191 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Dr.  William  H.  Clagett,  President 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Texas 
Presbyterian  University,  kindly  con- 
tributes the  following:  "On  a  New 
Year's  Day  the  late  Rev.  James  H. 
Brookes,  D.D.,  of  St.  Louis,  was  ear- 
nestly praying  for  a  deeper  work  of 
grace  in  his  own  heart,  and  during  his 
prayer  quoted  the  lines: 

**  *  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee,  nearer  to  Thee, 
E'en  though  it  be  a  cross  that  raiseth  me.' 

"  As  he  uttered  the  words,  the  spirit 
of  God  brought  the  meaning  of  the 
last  line  to  his  mind  as  never  before; 
so  much  so,  indeed,  that  he  stopped  in 
his  praying  and  asked,  '  Do  I  so  deeply 
desire  a  greater  consecration  that  I  am 
willing  for  God  to  send  a  cross,  if  it  be 
necessary,  for  me  to  receive  it?' 

"  After  an  inner  struggle  of  some 
minutes  he  again  bowed  down,  and, 
with  a  full  sense  of  the  meaning  of 
the  words  he  uttered,  made  use  of  the 

192 


NEARER,    MY    GOD,    TO    THEE 

same  quotation  as  expressing  the  inner- 
most desire  of  his  heart. 

"  That  year  there  came  to  him  one 
of  the  greatest  sorrows  of  his  Hfe 
through  the  death  of  a  daughter,  a 
bright  and  beautiful  girl  just  about  to 
graduate  from  college;  but  he  after- 
wards testified  that  through  this  great 
loss  God  had  answered  his  prayer 
and  had  brought  him  into  closer  com- 
munion with  Him  than  he  had  ever 
been  before." 

Chaplain  Henry  C.  McCook,  who 
was  with  our  soldiers  in  Cuba,  says: 
"  It  would  seem  strange  that  such  a 
hymn  as  '  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee ' 
should  be  the  most  popular  and  appar- 
ently the  most  widely  known  among  all 
classes  of  soldiers.  Yet  it  is  so.  When 
conducting  services  as  Chaplain  in  the 
camps  and  hospitals  of  the  Fifth  Army 
Corps,  and  upon  ships  of  war  and  trans- 
ports, as  well  as  in  the  camps  of  the 
States,  I  found  that  when  this  hymn 
IS  i»s 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

was  announced  all  the  soldiers  took 
hearty  part  in  the  singing.  One  would 
hardly  think  that  the  high  spiritual  note 
touched  in  this  familiar  hymn,  which 
breathes  longings  for  a  nearer  spiritual 
communion  with  God,  even  at  the  cost 
of  human  sacrifice,  would  truly  voice 
the  sentiment  of  the  rough-and-ready, 
ofttime  coarse  and  profane  men  who 
joined  with  their  more  religious  com- 
rades in  singing.  Yet  such  was  the 
case.  It  was  the  favourite  hymn  at 
funerals,  a  fact  that  can  be  understood 
more  easily.  All  soldiers  are  more  or 
less  affected  by  the  sense  of  the  near 
presence  of  death.  The  loss  of  their 
comrades  is  indeed  *  a  cross  ' ;  and  in  the 
true  spirit  of  camaraderie  they  feel  a 
touch  of  woe  that  the  companions  of 
the  tent  and  of  the  march,  who  shared 
with  them  the  toils  and  perils  of  battle, 
have  passed  away." 

He  also  gives  this  interesting  descrip- 
tion of  the  closing  scene  on  the  battle^ 

194 


NEARER,    MY    GOD,    TO    THEE 

field  of  Las  Guasimas,  June,  1898: 
"  Farther  on  lay  a  dead  Spaniard  with 
covered  face.  A  buzzard  flapped  from 
the  tree  above  him.  Beyond  was  the 
open-air  hospital,  where  were  two  more 
rigid  human  figures,  and  where  the 
wounded  lay.  That  night  there  was  a 
clear  sky,  a  quarter-moon,  and  an  en- 
veloping mist  of  stars,  but  little  sleep 
for  any,  and  restless,  battle-haunted 
sleep  for  all.  Next  morning  followed 
the  burial.  Captain  Capron  was  car- 
ried back  to  the  coast  and  buried  at 
Siboney.  The  other  heroes  were  placed 
side  by  side  in  one  broad  trench  with 
their  feet  to  the  east.  In  the  bottom 
of  the  grave  was  laid  a  layer  of  long, 
thick,  green  leaves  of  guinea  grass,  and 
over  the  brave  fellows  were  piled  plumes 
of  the  royal  palm  as  long  as  the  grave. 
At  the  head  of  the  trench  stood  Chap- 
lain Brown;  around  it  were  the  com- 
rades of  the  dead;  along  the  road 
struggled  a  band  of  patient,  ragged 

195 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Cubans;  and  approaching  from  San- 
tiago a  band  of  starving  women  and 
children  for  whom  the  soldiers  gave 
their  lives.  '  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee,' 
sang  the  soldiers;  and  the  tragedy  of 
Las  Guasimas  was  done/' 

This  noble  hymn  gained  additional 
popularity  through  the  tragic  death 
of  President  William  McKinley.  His 
last  intelligible  words,  spoken  just 
before  his  soul  took  its  flight,  were: 
"  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee,  e'en  though 
^j  it  be  a  cross,  has  been  my  constant 
prayer."  His  prayer  was  answered.  It 
was  a  cross  —  one  of  the  greatest  that 
could  come  to  him  and  to  the  beloved 
nation  which  he  had  served  so  faith- 
fully —  that  led  him  through  a  martyr's 
suffering  and  death  to  claim  a  martyr's 
reward,  that  of  being  ever  near  the 
blessed  Saviour.  In  a  different  way, 
the  prayers  of  his  countrymen  were  also 
answered,  for  although  his  life  was 
not  spared,  there  was  infused  into  the 

196 


NEARER,    MY    GOD,    TO    THEE 

hearts  of  all  a  profounder  reverence 
for  the  head  of  the  nation,  a  greater 
horror  of  assassination,  a  stronger  love 
for  our  country,  a  deeper  devotion  to 
our  political  institutions,  and  a  more 
abiding  faith  in  God. 

The  day  of  his  burial  at  Canton,  Sep- 
tember 19,  1901,  witnessed  the  most 
singular  and  unanimous  tributes  of  re- 
spect and  affection  ever  paid  to  the 
memory  of  a  human  being.  Seldom,  if 
ever,  has  a  common  sorrow  found  out- 
ward expression  in  so  many  lands  and  in 
so  many  ways;  and  never  was  there  so 
close  an  approach  to  church  and  inter- 
national unity.  Memorial  services  were 
held  in  innumerable  churches  in  our  own 
and  other  countries;  and  at  half -past 
three  o'clock,  through  arrangements 
previously  made,  all  the  material  ac- 
tivities of  the  country  ceased,  so  far  as 
possible,  for  five  minutes.  Trolley  cars 
were  motionless,  the  hum  of  machinery 
died  away,  horses  were  stopped,  not  a 

19T 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WOELD 

telegraph  instrument  clicked,  and  the 
great  ocean  cable  no  longer  pulsed  its 
messages.  A  Sabbath  stillness  was 
over  all.  Everywhere,  as  clocks  and 
watches  indicated  the  hour,  men  stood 
with  uncovered  and  bowed  heads  asking 
God's  blessing  upon  the  stricken  widow 
and  upon  their  bereaved  country. 

Before  us  as  we  write  is  a  great  met- 
ropolitan newspaper  of  the  following 
day,  its  pages  full  of  graphic  descrip- 
tions of  the  funeral  service  at  Canton, 
where  the  vast  audience  stood  at  the 
close,  with  tear-dimmed  eyes,  while 
"  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee,"  was  being 
sung;  and  of  telegraphic  despatches 
from  the  leading  centres  of  the  world, 
in  almost  all  of  which  reference  is  made 
to  the  singing  of  this  hymn  in  connec- 
tion with  memorial  services. 

Two  of  the  despatches  are  of  special 
interest:  The  first,  from  New  York, 
dated  September  19,  is:  "The  250 
passengers  of  the  American  Hamburg- 

198 


NEARER,    MY    GOD,    TO    THEE 

American  liner '  Belgravia,'  from  Ham- 
burg, which  arrived  this  afternoon  at 
Hoboken,  as  the  clock  struck  3 :  30,  re- 
ceived the  sorrowful  inteUigence  of  the 
President's  death  and  funeral  services. 
Instantly  every  one  stopped  and  stood 
for  five  minutes  with  uncovered  head. 
While  the  people  waited,  the  band 
on  the  steamer  'Pennsylvania,'  lying 
alongside,  played  Chopin's  funeral 
march,  and  a  quartet  sang  'Nearer, 
my  God,  to  Thee.' " 

The  second  despatch  is  from  Kansas 
City,  Mo.:  "  Twenty-five  thousand  peo- 
ple in  the  great  auditorium  this  after- 
noon paid  loving  tribute  to  the  memory 
of  President  McKinley.  As  many 
more  were  turned  away.  A  chorus  of 
seven  hundred  voices  and  a  band  of  one 
hundred  pieces  furnished  the  music. 
The  entire  audience  joined  in  the 
singing  of  '  Lead,  Kindly  Light '  and 
'  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee.'  " 

In   Philadelphia,    the   Academy   of 

199 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Music  was  packed  to  its  utmost  capac- 
ity, and  this  hymn  was  sung  with  mar- 
vellous effect  by  the  standing,  weeping 
audience.  At  League  Island,  at  Girard 
College,  in  Catholic  and  Protestant 
churches,  in  Jewish  synagogues  and 
Christian  temples,  the  people  were 
drawn  together  by  a  great  heart  sorrow, 
and  gave  expression  to  it  by  singing  the 
hymn  which  so  appropriately  and  fit- 
tingly set  forth  their  feelings.  On  the 
still  autumn  air  the  beautiful  notes  of 
"  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee  "  rang  out 
with  singular  sweetness  and  distinct- 
ness from  the  chimes  of  the  belfry  of 
the  historic  Christ  Church  —  the  same 
bells  which  had  sounded  a  muffled  peal 
at  the  reception  of  the  news  of  the 
British  blockade  of  Boston;  which  had 
joyously  echoed  the  brave  full  tones  of 
the  Liberty  Bell  when  it  proclaimed 
its  story  of  liberty  to  the  world;  which 
had  summoned  Washington  to  worship 
when  he  was  our  first  President;    and 

^  200 


NEARER,    MY    GOD,    TO    THEE 

which  had  rung  out  their  tribute  of  love 
and  sorrow  when  Washington,  Lincoln, 
and  Garfield  passed  on  to  join  the  im- 
mortals—  these  chimes  now  made  the 
air  melodious  with  the  tender  notes  of 
the  deathless  hymn;  and  men,  stopping 
to  listen,  went  on  their  way  with  up- 
lifted looks,  and  with  a  fuller,  deeper 
understanding  of  the  inner  spiritual 
teachings  of  the  solemn  words. 

In  every  civilised  country  memorial 
services  were  held,  the  most  interesting, 
perhaps,  being  in  Westminster  Abbey, 
by  order  of  the  King.  The  burial  ser- 
vice was  read  with  touching  simplicity 
in  the  presence  of  royalty,  the  full  dip- 
lomatic corps,  distinguished  men  and 
women,  and  a  vast  concourse  of  sor- 
rowing people.  Here,  as  elsewhere, 
the  greatest  interest  centred  about  the 
singing  of  the  hymn  which  was  in  the 
heart  and  on  the  lips  of  our  heroic 
President  as  he  went  to  meet  his  God. 


901 


ONWARD,    CHRISTIAN 
SOLDIERS 


d^ntoarb,  Cfttijftian  £(olbierj(, 

iWlarcijins  a£f  to  toar, 
OTitfj  tfje  cros;£{  of  3resfu£( 

^otns  on  before : 
Cbrisit,  tfte  ropal  iHa^ter, 

HeabsJ  against  tte  foe; 
jf  ortoarb  into  battle, 

^ee,  W^  bannerj;  go. 

!at  tlje  iigiVL  of  triumpfi 

^atan^g  Ijogt  boti)  f lee ; 
0n  tljen,  Cfjtigtian  golbierjf, 

C^n  to  bictorp : 
J^tWsi  founbationsf  quiber 

^t  tbe  siftout  of  praise ; 
Protberg,  lift  pour  boicejJ, 

ILoub  pour  antbentJf  raijfe. 

Hike  a  misbtp  arm? 

jHobesi  tbe  Cburtb  of  <§ob ; 
iBrotber£{,  toe  are  treabing 

OTibere  tbe  sfaintJf  babe  trob; 
Me  are  not  bibibeb, 

gill  one  bobp  bje, 
d^ne  in  bope  anb  boctrine, 

0nt  in  cbaritp. 

205 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Crotonsi  anb  tfjrones;  map  pertJJij, 

lltnsboms;  xi^t  anb  toane, 
Jliut  tije  Cfjurcft  of  STesfug 

Consitant  tutU  remain ; 
^ates;  of  fjell  can  neber 

'^ainflft  tfjat  Cfmrcij  prebail; 
WBt  tabe  €\}visiVsi  obin  pvomisit, 

J^tnb  tljat  cannot  faiL 

([^ntoarb,  tfjen,  pt  people, 

SToin  our  ftappp  tfjrong, 
Plenb  b)ttb  ours^  pour  boices^ 

3n  tf)e  triumpb=sJons ; 
<§lorp,  laub  anb  jjonour 

®nto  CljrisJt  tfte  Hing ; 
t!rt)ts(  ttrousb  countlesiiEf  ases(, 

iden  anb  angels;  s^tns* 


S06 


ONWARD,    CHRISTIAN 
SOLDIERS 

NWARD,  Christian  Sol- 
diers "  is  without  a  peer 
as  a  processional  hymn: 
and  although  originally 
written  for  children,  it  is 
none  the  less  inspiring  to  "  children  of 
a  larger  growth."  It  easily  ranks  as 
one  of  the  most  popular  of  our  modern 
hymns.  "  At  meetings  for  general 
work,"  writes  the  Rev.  Charles  M.  Bos- 
well,  D.D.,  "  like  church  extension, 
city  mission  movements,  and  similar 
enterprises,  I  know  of  no  hymn  that 
can  approach  it  in  arousing  the  ag- 
gressive and  enthusiastic  spirit  of  an 
audience." 

Fortunately,  we  have  the  author's 
own  statement  as  to  the  origin  of  the 
hymn.  A  great  school  festival  was  to 
be  held  in  a  Yorkshire  village  on  Whit- 
Monday,    1865,    and    the    scholars    of 

207 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Horbury  Bridge  school,  over  which  the 
Rev.  Sabine  Baring-Gould  was  Curate, 
were  invited  to  attend.  As  the  place 
of  the  celebration  was  some  distance 
away,  the  minister  thought  it  would  be 
an  excellent  plan  to  have  his  scholars 
march  to  the  singing  of  an  appropriate 
and  stirring  hymn.  Fortunately  for 
our  hymnology,  he  could  find  nothing 
in  his  song  books  suitable  for  such  an 
occasion,  so  from  sheer  necessity  he  sat 
down  on  the  Saturday  evening  preced- 
ing the  celebration  and  composed  this 
great  processional  hymn,  little  dream- 
ing that  he  had  produced  that  which 
would  be  world-wide  in  its  usefulness 
and  make  his  name  a  household  word. 
"  It  was  written,"  he  modestly  says, 
"  in  a  very  simple  fashion,  without  a 
thought  of  publication.  I  wanted  the 
children  to  sing  when  marching  from 
one  village  to  the  other,  but  could  not 
think  of  anything  quite  suitable,  so  I 
sat  up  at  night  resolved  to  write  some- 

208 


ONWARD,    CHRISTIAN    SOLDIERS 

thing  myself.  *  Onward,  Christian 
Soldiers  '  was  the  result.  It  was  written 
in  great  haste,  and  I  am  afraid  that 
some  of  the  lines  are  faulty.  Certainly 
nothing  has  surprised  me  more  than  its 
great  popularity." 

The  spirited  music  written  for  it  by 
Arthur  S.  Sullivan  has  doubtless  added 
to  the  enthusiasm  and  heartiness  with 
which  it  is  always  sung. 

While  preparing  this  article,  it  was 
our  good  fortune  to  learn  that  a  Mr. 
Thomas  Taylor,  a  brother-in-law  of 
Baring-Gould  and  a  member  of  the 
choir  which  first  sang  the  hymn,  was 
living  in  Germantown,  Pennsylvania. 
We  had  a  pleasant  interview  with  him, 
and  found  him  to  be  a  sympathetic, 
genial,  middle-aged  man,  with  quite 
a  local  reputation  as  a  poet.  He  kindly 
gave  the  following  interesting  rem- 
iniscences of  the  first  time  the  hymn 
was  sung: 

"  As  I  look  back  through  the  mists 

14  209 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

of  more  than  forty  long  years,  I  see 
a  little  cottage  church  close  by  the  banks 
of  the  Calder,  a  branch  of  the  Hum- 
ber,  in  Yorkshire.  It  was  here,  in  an 
upper  room,  in  the  early  sixties,  that 
Mr.  Baring-Gould,  a  Curate  from  St. 
Peter's  Church,  used  to  hold  services. 

"  The  cottage  church  soon  became 
too  small  for  the  rapidly  increasing 
congregation.  In  course  of  time  a 
large  mission  church  was  built,  and  I, 
with  two  elder  brothers,  had  the  su- 
preme delight  of  being  enrolled  as 
members  of  the  first  surpliced  choir. 

"  I  remember  well  how  eagerly  we 
boys  looked  forward  to  the  great  Whit- 
suntide festivals  religiously  kept  in  the 
Yorkshire  parishes,  and  which  were 
welcomed  by  all. 

"  Whit-Monday,  1865,  dawned  bright 
and  beautiful.  Mr.  Baring-Gould  had 
arranged  that  we  should  march  to  the 
parent  church,  St.  Peter's,  about  one 
and  a  half  miles  distant  from  Horbury 

210 


ONWARD,    CHRISTIAN    SOLDIERS 

Bridge,  to  celebrate  the  day.  The  road 
led  up  a  very  steep  incline,  known  as 
Quarry  Hill.  With  lusty  voices  and 
with  banners  floating  in  the  breeze,  we 
marched  forward,  a  little  army  some 
one  hundred  strong,  singing  Mr. 
Baring-Gould's  new  hymn,  '  Onward, 
Christian  Soldiers.'  It  was  on  that 
country  road  and  along  the  main  street 
of  Horbury  village  that  the  hymn  was 
first  sung  in  public. 

"  Near  the  parish  church  we  were 
met  by  the  Horbury  brass  band  and 
the  scholars  and  choristers  of  St. 
Peter's,  who  joined  in  the  singing  as 
we  filed  into  the  church.  After  the 
service  we  all  entered  the  vicarage  gar- 
den, and  there  again  the  hymn  was 
sung,  under  the  leadership  of  Mr. 
Henry  Wilson,  then  choirmaster  at  St. 
Peter's. 

"  Soon  after  this  event  I  joined  the 
choir  of  St.  Peter's.  Years  after,  I 
married  the  daughter  of  my  old  choir- 

211 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

master,  Mr.  Wilson,  and  subsequently 
came  across  the  great  Atlantic  to  seek 
a  home  in  the  United  States." 

Mr.  Taylor  added  this  interesting  bit 
of  family  history:  "  I  often  wondered 
why  it  was  that  I  was  such  a  favourite 
of  Mr.  Baring-Gould;  nor  could  I 
understand  why  it  was  that  whenever 
he  came  to  the  house  I  was  sent  by  my 
mother  into  the  garden,  or  elsewhere, 
to  play.  But  when  my  sister  became 
Mrs.  Baring-Gould  a  flood  of  light 
broke  in  upon  my  youthful  mind,  and 
I  was  able  to  comprehend  why  my 
absence  had  been  so  frequently  desired ; 
and  I  was  also  reluctantly  led  to  believe 
that  the  Curate's  affection  for  the  little 
choir  boy  was  not  quite  so  disinter- 
ested as  his  personal  vanity  might  have 
wished." 

Baring-Gould,  a  minister  of  the 
Church  of  England,  was  born  in  Ex- 
eter, Devonshire,  January  28,  1834, 
and  was  graduated  from  Clare  College, 

212 


ONWARD,    CHRISTIAN    SOLDIERS 

Cambridge,  twenty  years  later.  He 
was  Curate  of  Horbury,  where  the 
hymn  was  written,  from  1864  to  1867, 
and  since  1881  has  been  Rector  of  Lew 
Trenchard,  where  he  holds  estates  and 
privileges  which  have  descended  to  him 
through  his  family. 

He  is  an  authority  on  many  subjects, 
and  is  a  voluminous  writer,  having  pub- 
lished nearly  one  hundred  volumes.  In 
twenty  years,  between  1870  and  1890, 
he  issued  no  less  than  forty-three  books, 
sixteen  of  which  were  novels.  During 
the  next  six  years  he  published  seven- 
teen novels.  A  number  of  his  works 
have  passed  through  several  editions. 
To  show  the  extent  and  variety  of  his 
writings,  it  is  only  necessary  to  mention 
a  few  of  the  titles:  The  Lives  of  the 
Saints,  in  fifteen  volumes;  Legends  of 
the  Old  Testament;  Curious  Myths  of 
the  Middle  Ages;  Iceland:  Its  Scenes 
and  Its  Sagas;  and  The  Vicar  of  Mor- 
wenstow.    Among  his  novels  are  Meha- 

213 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Idh,  In  the  Roar  of  the  Sea,  and  Noemi. 
"  He  has,"  says  J.  M.  Barrie,  "  power- 
ful imagination,  and  is  quaintly  fanci- 
ful. When  he  describes  a  storm,  we  can 
see  his  trees  breaking  in  the  gale.  So 
enormous  and  accurate  is  his  informa- 
tion that  there  is  no  trade  or  profession 
with  which  he  does  not  seem  familiar." 
This  suggests  to  us  the  poet  Thomas 
Gray,  who  was  also  a  man  of  vast 
learning,  not  only  in  literature  but 
in  all  the  arts  and  sciences  of  his  day; 
and  although  he  left  writings  enough 
to  form,  with  his  life,  a  book  of  four 
volumes,  edited  by  Edmund  Gosse, 
it  is  by  his  one  poem,  "  Elegy  Writ- 
ten in  a  Country  Churchyard,"  that 
he  will  be  ever  remembered.  This 
may  also  prove  true  of  Baring- Gould. 
The  few  lines  hurriedly  composed  on 
a  Saturday  evening  as  a  marching 
song  for  a  band  of  little  children,  will 
doubtless  give  to  his  name  greater  fame 
than  all  the  books  he  has  ever  written. 

2U 


ONWAED,    CHRISTIAN    SOLDIEES 

"  At  morning  prayers,"  writes  Presi- 
dent S.  W.  Boardman,  of  Maryville 
College,  Tennessee,  "  after  the  faculty 
and  the  more  advanced  classes  are  in 
their  seats,  from  one  to  two  hundred 
preparatory  students  march  in,  two 
abreast,  from  the  south  entry,  and  pass 
before  the  platform  to  their  places. 
Most  of  them  are  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  years  old,  and  the  majority  are 
professed  Christians.  The  stirring 
hymn,  *  Onward,  Christian  Soldiers,' 
is  frequently  sung,  but  even  when  it  is 
not,  I  never  see  the  youthful,  hurrying 
throng  pressing  forward  to  prepare  for 
the  future  work  of  the  Church  and  of 
the  world,  without  feeling  in  my  own 
heart  the  thrill  and  impulse  of  the 
words : 

"  *  Onward,  Christian  soldiers, 
Marching  as  to  war ! ' 

An  unusual  event,  with  which  this 
hymn  was  associated,  happened  at  the 

215 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

November,  1905,  election  in  Philadel- 
phia. A  desperate  effort  had  been 
made  during  the  preceding  weeks  by 
the  citizens  to  free  themselves  from 
corrupt  political  methods  and  office 
holders.  Excitement  ran  high,  and  on 
the  night  of  the  election  the  deepest 
concern  was  felt  as  to  the  issue.  One 
of  the  papers  the  next  morning  gave 
this  vivid  picture  of  the  happenings: 

"  From  this  time  forward,  '  Onward, 
Christian  Soldiers  '  is  the  cheering  song 
from  which  a  redeemed  city  will  draw 
its  inspiration  and  continue  the  good 
work  so  well  begun. 

"  It  was  midnight  last  night  when 
the  new  battle  hymn  was  borne  on  a 
triumphant  wave  to  the  thousands  of 
exulting  citizens.  Broad  and  Chestnut 
Streets  were  packed  almost  to  suffo- 
cation. The  crowds  were  delirious  with 
joy  when  they  heard  the  news  of  the 
Organisation's  defeat.  As  soon  as  the 
Chairman  of  the  City  Party  Campaign 

216 


ONWARD,    CHRISTIAN    SOLDIERS 

Committee  was  satisfied  that  the  results 
were  no  longer  in  doubt,  and  when 
the  returns  showed  a  decided  victory 
for  the  people,  he  hurriedly  formed 
a  procession,  and,  headed  by  a  band, 
began  a  parade  through  Broad  and 
Chestnut  Streets.  The  first  piece 
played  by  the  band  was  *  Onward, 
Christian  Soldiers,'  and  thereafter  only 
one  other  song  was  permitted,  '  My 
Country,  'T  is  of  Thee.' 

"  When  the  crowds  heard  Baring- 
Gould's  stirring  melody  many  of  them 
fell  in  line,  and  soon  thousands  were 
singing  the  words  of  the  inspiring 
chorus.  On  Broad  Street  thousands  of 
others  joined  in  the  singing;  and  for 
the  first  time  in  many  years  an  election 
crowd  knew  what  it  was  to  be  inspired 
by  the  true  spirit  of  victory." 

A  certain  Low  Church  Vicar,  we  are 
told,  was  thoroughly  opposed  to  all 
outward  symbolisms.  On  one  occa- 
sion, the  children  of  his  school  were  to 

217 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

march  in  procession,  and  "  Onward, 
Christian  Soldiers "  was  the  hynin 
selected  to  be  sung.  To  add  to  the 
realism,  the  choirmaster  desired  to  have 
a  cross  carried  in  front  of  the  little 
company,  but  this  the  good  Vicar  pos- 
itively refused  to  permit.  Wishing  to 
have  the  hymn  as  literally  true  as  pos- 
sible, and  possibly  to  "  get  even  "  with 
the  Vicar,  the  choirmaster  changed  the 
last  line  of  the  first  stanza,  and  the  chil- 
dren started  off,  lustily  singing, 

"  Onward,  Christian  soldiers. 
Marching  as  to  war, 
With  the  cross  of  Jesus 
Left  behind  the  door.^* 

Another  amusing  story  is  told  in  a 
letter  received  from  the  Rev.  Robert  J. 
Drummond,  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland: 
"  A  little  boy  I  know,  three  years  of 
age,  was  marching  around  the  table, 
singing  this  hymn  at  the  top  of  his 
voice.  His  father  said  to  him,  *  Are 
you  a  Christian  soldier? '     *  No,  Brit- 

918 


ONWARD,    CHRISTIAN    SOLDIERS 

ish ! '  was  the  unexpected  and  senten- 
tious reply,  as  the  little  chap  continued 
his  march,  singing  more  lustily  than 
ever.  This  was  when  the  Boer  war  was 
at  its  height,  and  loyalty  and  patriot- 
ism among  the  children  were  running- 
high." 

When  peace  was  expected  to  be  de- 
clared between  the  British  and  the 
Boers,  a  Chaplain  telegraphed  to  Lord 
Kitchener  from  the  Orange  River  Col- 
ony, stating,  "  I  am  the  acting  Chap- 
lain, and  shall  conduct  divine  service 
in  several  camps  to-morrow.  May  I 
ask  if  the  hymn,  '  Peace,  Perfect 
Peace,'  would  not  be  a  most  appro- 
priate one  to  sing?  "  "  Please  your- 
self," telegraphed  Kitchener;  "but  I 
think  '  Onward,  Christian  Soldiers ' 
quite  as  good  at  this  time  and  perhaps 
more  appropriate." 

Miss  Anna  Woodruff  Jones,  a 
youthful  and  enthusiastic  missionary, 
thus    writes    from    Osaka,    Japan,    in 

219 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

April,  1904:  "I  spent  last  Saturday 
down  at  the  harbour  watching  hun- 
dreds of  Japanese  soldiers  embarking 
on  several  large  transports  to  go  to  the 
seat  of  war.  We  occupied  the  place 
allotted  to  Christians  on  the  wide  har- 
bour road  down  which  marched  the 
soldiers,  healthy,  strong,  and  deter- 
mined-looking. I  took  my  two  silk 
United  States  flags,  and  I  waved  one 
and  a  friend  the  other.  The  Japanese 
flag  has  no  blue  in  it,  and  as  we  held 
ours  high  up  they  were  very  conspic- 
uous. The  soldiers  were  evidently 
pleased,  and  many  of  the  ofiicers 
saluted.  One  of  our  missionaries  had 
brought  his  cornet,  and  with  its  help  we 
sang  most  heartily  '  Onward,  Christian 
Soldiers,'  the  object  being  to  cheer  the 
Christian  Japanese  whom  we  knew  to 
be  in  the  ranks.  Tears  came  to  our  eyes 
as  we  saw  one  Christian  after  another 
raise  his  hand  or  give  some  other  sign 
to  let  us  know  that  he  appreciated  our 

^       '  220 


-^ 


'sang  most    heartily  "^onward,   christian    soldiers/ 
to  cheer  the  christian  japanese  in  the 


RANKS. 


-Page 


'.20. 


ONWARD,    CHRISTIAN    SOLDIERS 

being  there  and  singing  for  him  our 
song  of  encouragement;  and  with 
grateful  looks  he  passed  on." 

Above  300,000  people  witnessed  the 
great  march  of  the  Knights  Templars 
of  the  Grand  Commandery  of  Penn- 
sylvania on  Broad  Street,  Philadelphia, 
May  26,  1903.  The  late  Dr.  Willard 
M.  Rice  gave  the  following  vivid  pen- 
picture  of  the  inspiring  event: 

"  On  the  way  down,  it  seemed  only 
an  ordinary  parade,  composed  of  alter- 
nate brass  bands  and  commanderies ; 
and  many,  perhaps,  of  those  who  looked 
on  were  not  a  little  disappointed.  It 
remained,  however,  for  the  counter- 
march to  eclipse  anything  of  the  kind 
ever  seen  in  this  or  possibly  any  other 
city.  Reaching  Reed  Street,  the  entire 
line  was  reformed  for  the  return  march. 
The  forty  bands,  aggregating  1,500 
musicians,  were  massed  together  in  the 
lead,  the  hundreds  of  flags  and  their 
bearers  being  grouped  immediately 
2n 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

behind;  and  then,  shoulder  to  shoulder, 
with  locked  step  and  stretching  from 
curb  to  curb,  with  all  the  pride  of  the 
old  crusaders  and  conscious  of  the 
centuries  they  represented,  followed 
the  five  thousand  splendidly  attired 
knights,  their  waving  plumes  gleaming 
white  in  the  sunlight,  giving  them  the 
novel  appearance  of  a  moving  snow- 
drift. It  was  a  thrilling  scene  as 
the  magnificent  pageant  swept  tri- 
umphantly onward:  the  great  band, 
with  its  resplendent  and  multicoloured 
uniforms;  the  glorious  Stars  and 
Stripes  intermingled  with  the  brilliant 
banners  of  the  several  commanderies ; 
the  white-plumed  knights  with  gold 
and  silver  sashes  —  all  these  united  in 
forming  a  colour  effect  never  to  be 
forgotten. 

"  But  the  best  was  yet  to  come :  When 
the  great  band  swept  past  the  review- 
ing stands,  the  majestic  strains  of 
Baring-Gould's  inspiring  hymn,  'On- 

222 


ONWARD,    CHRISTIAN    SOLDIERS 

ward,  Christian  Soldiers,'  rang  out  as 
though  played  by  one  man,  yet  with 
a  volume  of  sound  that  could  be  heard 
for  squares.  Confined  within  the  nar- 
row channel  formed  by  the  tall  build- 
ings at  Broad  and  Chestnut  Streets, 
the  matchless  music,  reflecting  against 
the  vaulted  sky,  reverberated  again  and 
again  in  the  most  exquisite  harmony  — 
a  diapason  of  sweetest  melody,  a  paean 
of  praise  to  the  Master,  a  direct  and 
mighty  call  to  all  to  engage  in  the  great 
conflict  between  God  and  Satan,  right- 
eousness and  sin. 

"  The  eff*ect  on  the  vast  multitude 
of  onlookers  was  electrical.  While  some 
applauded  in  a  delirium  of  joy,  others, 
with  deeper  spiritual  insight,  and  with 
tear-stained  faces,  caught  the  promise 
and  the  inspiration  of  the  moment  and 
sang  the  words  of  the  glorious  hymn 
with  an  intensity  of  feeling  which  the 
grandest  of  organs  in  the  stateliest  of 
churches  could  never  call  forth.    It  was 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

all  over  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to 
write  about  it,  but  the  blessed  benedic- 
tion will  long  remain,  and  men,  women, 
and  children  will  be  the  better  because 
of  those  few  moments  of  nearer  ap- 
proach to  the  great  All-Father  through 
the  inspiration  of  *  Onward,  Christian 
Soldiers.'  " 


su 


XI 

COME,  THOU  FOUNT  OF 
EVERY  BLESSING 


Come,  ^Jou  Jf ount  of  eberp  felesfsiins, 
Cune  mj>  Ijeart  to  ising  tETfjp  grace ; 

^treamsf  of  mercj>,  neber  ceasJing, 
Call  for  sfongsf  of  loube^t  praisie. 

Ceacfi  me  ^omt  mielobious;  bonnet, 
^ung  hy  flaming  tongues;  aliobe ; 

^raisie  tfje  mount  I    3  'm  f ixeb  upon  it, 
iWount  of  (§ob's;  uncfjanging  lobe  I 

Jlere  3  rais^e  mp  Cbene^er ; 

Jlitfjer  hp  ^fjp  Ijelp  3  *m  come ; 
J^nb  3  Ijope,  bp  Cftp  goob  pleasJure, 

^afelj>  to  arribe  at  tonte. 

Sftam  siougftt  me  tofien  a  stranger, 
OTanbering  from  tfje  f olb  of  <^ob ; 

J|e,  to  rejscue  me  from  banger, 
I^nterposieb  %ts(  precious;  bloob. 

0  to  grace  ftobj  great  a  bebtor 
JBailp  3  'm  consitraineb  to  be ! 

Het  tfjat  grace  nobj,  lifee  a  fetter, 
Siinb  mj>  toanbering  tieart  to  tIDfjee. 

J^rone  to  hianber,  Horb,  3J  feel  it; 

^rone  to  leabe  t Je  <§ob  I  lobe ; 
Slere  's;  mp  Ijeart ;  0  take  anb  2;eal  it» 

^eal  it  from  tJTfjp  courts;  abobe. 


COME,  THOU  FOUNT  OF 
EVERY  BLESSING 


HE  career  of  the  Rev. 
Robert  Robinson,  the 
author  of  this  great  re- 
vival hymn,  was  a  re- 
markable one,  and  his 
character  seems  to  be  perfectly  summed 
up  in  one  of  its  phrases:  "Prone  to 
wander."  He  was  a  precocious  boy,  a 
barber's  apprentice,  a  diligent  student, 
a  convert  to  Methodism,  a  farmer,  an 
author,  and  a  preacher.  At  different 
periods  of  his  life  he  was  connected 
with  no  less  than  four  religious  de- 
nominations, yet  wandered  in  spirit- 
ual darkness  at  times,  if  we  are  to 
believe  a  story  told  by  the  Rev.  S.  W. 
Christophers : 

"  One  day,  on  one  of  the  well-known 
roads,  a  lady  had  been  for  some  time 
engaged  over  one  page  of  a  little  book, 
which,  in  the  course  of  the  journey,  she 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

had  occasionally  consulted.  Turning, 
at  length,  to  her  companion  in  travel, 
a  gentleman  from  whose  appearance 
she  gathered  that  an  appeal  on  such  a 
question  would  not  be  disagreeable,  she 
held  the  open  page  toward  him,  and 
said,  '  May  I  ask  your  attention  to  this 
hymn,  and  ask  you  to  favour  me  with 
your  opinion  of  it? ' 

"  Her  companion  glanced  down  the 
page,  and  seeing  that  the  hymn  was 
*  Come,  Thou  Fount  of  Every  Bless- 
ing,' made  an  attempt  to  excuse  him- 
self from  conversation  on  its  merits; 
but  the  lady  ventured  on  another 
appeal. 

"  *  That  hymn  has  given  me  so  much 
pleasure,'  she  said;  'its  sentiments  so 
touch  me;  indeed,  I  cannot  tell  you 
how  much  good  it  has  done  me.  Don't 
you  think  it  very  good  ? '  " 

"  *  Madam,'  said  the  stranger,  burst- 
ing into  tears,  *  I  am  the  poor,  unhappy 
man  who  wrote  that  hymn  many  years 

230 


COME,  THOU  FOUNT  OF  EVERY  BLESSING 

ago,  and  I  would  give  a  thousand 
worlds,  if  I  had  them,  to  enjoy  the 
feelings  I  then  had.'  " 

The  inscription  on  his  tombstone, 
however,  prepared  by  his  distinguished 
successor,  Robert  Hall,  fittingly  sets 
forth  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held, 
and  encourages  the  thought  that  he  was 
again  brought  into  right  relations  with 
Christ  before  his  death : 

"  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  the  Rev. 
Robert  Robinson,  of  Cambridge,  the 
intrepid  champion  of  Liberty,  civil  and 
religious;  endowed  with  a  genius  bril- 
liant and  penetrating,  united  with  an 
indefatigable  industry;  his  mind  was 
richly  furnished  with  an  exhaustive 
variety  of  knowledge.  His  eloquence 
was  the  delight  of  every  public  as- 
sembly, and  his  conversation  the  charm 
of  every  private  circle.  In  him  the 
erudition  of  the  scholar,  the  discrimi- 
nation of  the  historian,  and  the  bold- 
ness   of    the    reformer    were    united, 

231 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

in  an  eminent  degree,  with  the  vir- 
tues which  adorn  the  man  and  the 
Christian." 

Robert  Robinson,  the  son  of  a  Scotch 
father  and  an  English  mother,  both 
members  of  the  Established  Church, 
was  born  September  27,  1735,  in  Swaff- 
ham,  Norfolkshire,  England.  He  was 
a  remarkably  bright  boy,  and  at  the  age 
of  six  was  attending  a  Latin  school. 
His  father  died  when  he  was  quite 
young,  and  his  mother,  left  in  almost 
destitute  circumstances,  was  compelled 
to  take  boarders  to  keep  her  family 
together.  After  a  time,  the  needs  of 
the  home  made  it  imperative  that  the 
boy  should  seek  employment,  and  at 
the  age  of  fourteen  he  was  apprenticed 
to  a  barber  in  London.  This,  however, 
did  not  dampen  his  desire  for  knowl- 
edge, and  by  rising  early  he  was  en- 
abled to  devote  a  part  of  each  day  to 
self -improvement. 

His  thoughts  were  first  turned  seri- 

232 


COME,  THOU  FOUNT  OF  EVERY  BLESSING 

ously  to  spiritual  matters  by  a  singular 
incident.  He  was  now  seventeen, 
and  was  beginning  to  associate  with 
dissolute  young  men.  On  one  occa- 
sion he,  with  several  of  these  com- 
panions, succeeded  in  loosening  the 
tongue  of  a  gypsy  fortune-teller  with 
drink,  and  she  prophesied,  among  other 
things,  that  he  would  live  to  see  his 
children  and  grandchildren.  To  his 
credit,  be  it  said,  this  statement  filled 
him  with  a  desire  to  be,  in  a  measure,  at 
least,  worthy  of  these  prospective  de- 
scendants ;  and  that  very  night  he  went 
to  hear  the  famous  George  Whitefield 
preach,  although  evidently  with  not 
much  hopes  of  good  results,  if  we  are 
to  beheve  his  confession  made  to  White- 
field  some  time  later,  in  which  he  said 
that  he  went  disposed  to  "  pity  the  poor, 
deluded  Methodists;  but  had  come 
away  envious  of  their  happiness." 
Whitefield  was  a  powerful  preacher, 
and  in  this  instance,  as  frequently,  his 

233 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WOBlLD 

experience  was  similar  to  that  of  the 
saintly  parson  described  in  Goldsmith's 
"Deserted  Village": 

"  Truth  from  his  lips  prevail'd  with  double 
sway, 
And  fools  who  came  to  scoff,  remain'd  to 
pray." 

Whitefield's  sermon  made  a  deep 
impression  on  young  Robinson,  and  he 
became  a  constant  attendant  at  these 
Methodist  meetings;  but  it  was  not 
until  "  two  years  and  seven  months  " 
afterward  that  he  professed  to  being 
soundly  converted.  He  kept  a  journal, 
and  the  entry  describing  this  experience 
is,  to  say  the  least,  both  quaint  and 
expressive.  It  gives  the  names  of  his 
parents,  when  and  where  he  was  born, 
when  and  under  whom  his  spiritual 
birth  began,  and  the  length  of  time  that 
elapsed  before  he  was  altogether  con- 
verted. The  entry  is  in  Latin  and 
makes  interesting  reading: 

"  Robertus,      Michaelis      Mariaeque 

234 


COME,  THOU  FOUNT  OF  EVERY  BLESSING 

Robinson  filius,  Natus  SwafFhami, 
comitatu  Norfolcia,  Saturni  die,  Sept. 
27,  1735.  Renatus  Sabbati  die,  Maii 
24,  1752,  per  predicationem  Georgii 
Whitefield.  Et  gustatis  doloribus  reno- 
vationis  duos  annos  mensesque  septem, 
absolutionem  plenam  gratuitamque, 
per  sanguinem  pretiosum  Jesu  Christi, 
inveni  (Tuesday,  December  10th, 
1755),  cui  sit  honor  et  gloria  in  secula 
secularum." 

He  served  as  a  barber  until  he  was 
nineteen,  and  then  went  to  Mildenhall 
with  the  intention  of  devoting  himself 
to  farming.  Soon  after  he  began  to 
preach,  and  this  he  did  with  such  vigour 
and  acceptability  that  many  were  drawn 
to  hear  him  from  his  own  and  other 
neighbourhoods.  He  married,  and  be- 
came the  father  of  nine  children. 

In  1758  he  preached  in  Norfolk,  but 
soon  after  he  left  the  Methodist  and 
formed  an  independent  church.  Then 
he  became  a  Baptist,  was  ordained  by 

235 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WOELD 

that  body  in  1761,  and  accepted  the 
charge  of  a  church  in  Cambridge.  The 
congregation  to  which  he  ministered 
was  small,  and  at  no  time  did  he  receive 
a  salary  greater  than  $450  per  annum. 
His  work  here  was  very  successful,  and 
he  gathered  about  him  a  flourishing 
congregation.  He  was  an  indefati- 
gable worker  and  an  able  preacher,  and 
became  very  popular  with  the  students 
of  the  University.  In  1790  he  made 
a  visit  to  Birmingham,  and  one  morn- 
ing—  June  9th  —  was  found  dead  in 
bed,  at  the  age  of  fifty-five. 

Goodness  as  well  as  evil  is  conta- 
gious and  far-reaching.  Whitefield 
was  the  human  means  of  Robinson's 
conversion;  Robinson  was  the  inspirer 
of  Robert  Hall's  vast  influence  for 
good,  and  it  was  through  Robert  Hall 
that  Charles  H.  Spurgeon  was  led  to 
enter  upon  his  career  of  splendid  use- 
fulness. Through  these  men  thousands 
have  been  led  to  a  saving  loiowledge 

236 


COME,  THOU  FOUNT  OF  EVERY  BLESSING 

of  the  Master.  We  little  realise  the 
possibilities  of  a  human  life  for  help  or 
for  hindrance. 

Although  fully  engaged  in  his  pas- 
toral duties,  Robinson  found  time  to 
accomplish  much  in  a  literary  line,  and 
prepared  several  volumes  for  publica- 
tion. His  works  were  characterised  by 
freshness  and  originality,  and  were 
widely  circulated.  He  was  an  eloquent 
speaker,  and  Robert  Hall  said  of  him, 
"  He  could  say  what  he  pleased,  when 
he  pleased,  and  how  he  pleased."  And 
another  wrote,  "  For  disentangling  a 
subject  from  confusion,  for  the  power 
of  development,  for  genuine  simplifi- 
cation, for  invention  —  who  ever  sur- 
passed Robinson  of  Cambridge? " 

So  far  as  known,  he  wrote  only  two 
or  three  hymns,  and  he  is  now  chiefly 
remembered  through  being  the  author 
of  "Come,  Thou  Fount  of  Every 
Blessing,"  a  hymn  which  is  a  universal 
favourite  and  very  popular  and  helpful 

23T 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

in  revival  services,  where  it  is  frequently 
sung,  and  always  with  vigour  and 
enthusiasm. 

Dr.  A.  H.  Harshaw  writes:  "This 
is  my  favourite  hymn.  Of  course,  there 
are  more  perfect  songs  of  worship,  but 
the  spirit  of  this  one  is  very  cheering  to 
me.  The  mixture  of  thanksgiving  and 
petition,  and  the  revelation  of  the  very 
heart  of  the  gospel,  endear  it  to  all 
devout  Christian  souls.'* 

It  is  believed  that  "  Come,  Thou 
Fount  of  Every  Blessing  "  was  written 
in  1757,  when  the  author  was  but 
twenty-two  years  of  age,  and  shortly 
after  the  time  of  his  full  surrender  to 
Christ,  when  he  was  able  gratefully  and 
prayerfully  to  exclaim: 

"  Oh,  to  grace  how  great  a  debtor 
Daily  I  'm  constrained  to  be ! 
Let  that  grace  now,  like  a  fetter, 

Bind  my  wandering  heart  to  Thee !  '* 

The  Rev.  C.  T.  Schaeffer  writes: 
"  It   was   after   eleven   o'clock  on   an 


COME,  THOU  FOUNT  OF  EVERY  BLESSING 

October  night  in  1902,  that  a  father 
and  son,  who  had  been  separated 
through  some  misunderstanding,  met 
in  the  Chinese  Mission,  New  York 
City.  The  place  was  crowded  with  the 
residents  of  the  Chinese  quarter  and  a 
few  faithful  Christian  workers.  As 
soon  as  the  son  recognised  his  father 
he  angrily  picked  up  a  chair  and  at- 
tempted to  strike  him.  Fortunately, 
the  Superintendent  was  near,  and 
springing  in  between  held  them  apart 
while  he  gave  out  the  hymn,  *  Come, 
Thou  Fount  of  Every  Blessing.' 

"  The  prompt  action  of  the  Superin- 
tendent and  the  quieting  effect  of  the 
sacred  song  had.  their  helpful  influence 
over  the  two  men,  who  sat  with  bowed 
heads  until  the  singing  was  ended  and 
the  meeting  was  over;  and  then,  with 
one  accord,  they  clasped  hands  and  were 
reconciled.  The  anger  and  bitterness 
of  years  were  blotted  out  and  forgiven, 
and  they  went  out  into  the  darkness 

239 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

together,  rejoicing  in  their  God-given 
happiness." 

A  writer  in  The  Boston  Journal  thus 
describes  a  visit  he  made  during  the 
Civil  War  to  the  rooms  of  the  Chris- 
tian Commission  in  Fredericksburg: 

"  Passing  through  the  rooms,"  he 
says,  "  I  gained  the  grounds  in  the 
rear  —  a  beautiful  garden  once,  not 
unattractive  now.  The  air  was  redo- 
lent with  roses  and  locust-blossoms. 
Fifty  men  were  gathered  round  a  sum- 
mer house  —  sympathetic  men,  who 
had  been  all  day  in  the  hospital.  Their 
hearts  had  been  wrung  by  scenes  of 
suffering.  They  had  given  out  food 
for  body  and  soul,  and  cups  of  water 
in  the  name  of  Christ.  They  were  tired 
now,  and  thinking  of  home  and  quiet 
scenes.  They  were  of  diiFerent  faiths 
and  from  widely  separated  States.  One 
man,  who  knew  how  to  strike  a  har- 
monious chord,  broke  into  singing, — 

"  '  Come,  Thou  Fount  of  every  blessing.' 
240 


COME,  THOU  FOUNT  OF  EVERY  BLESSING 

"  Everywhere  from  the  shadows  and 
the  shrubbery  rose  the  music  of  that 
hymn  from  men  who  were  in  memory 
in  the  home  church  or  at  the  home  fire- 
side, and  who  joined  in  this  famiUar 
hymn  and  were  one  in  Christ  Jesus.  It 
was  a  night  scene  to  be  remembered. 
And  then  one  led  in  prayer  and  alluded 
to  the  garden  scene  in  Gethsemane. 
The  angel  sent  to  strengthen  these 
brave  men  in  their  dark  hour  was  the 
angel  of  song,  and  it  floated  in  on  the 
wings  of  this  hymn,  which  was  asso- 
ciated with  every  man's  home  life  and 
religious  experience." 

On  a  warm  night  of  summer,  a 
young  man,  with  his  face  betraying 
marks  of  dissipation  and  with  the  un- 
comfortable feeling  that  his  present 
course  was  making  a  wreck  of  his  life, 
passed  slowly  and  thoughtfully  down 
a  quiet  village  street.  He  was  in  a 
receptive  mood,  and  impressions  made 
now  would  be  lasting.     The  pleasant 

,       16  241 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

breeze,  the  flood  of  glorious  moonlight, 
and  the  solemn  stars  were  making  their 
strong  demand  on  his  manhood  to  assert 
itself.  Their  silent  appeal  might  have 
been  in  vain,  but  at  that  fitting  moment 
there  fell  on  his  ear  from  a  neighbour- 
ing balcony,  embowered  in  leaves,  the 
full,  rich  voice  of  a  young  girl  singing; 
and  as  he  passed  the  house  he  could  dis- 
tinctly hear  the  words: 

"  Jesus  sought  me  when  a  stranger, 
Wandering  from  the  fold  of  God; 
He,  to  rescue  me  from  danger. 
Interposed  His  precious  blood." 

He  had  heard  the  hymn  often  before, 
and  was  perfectly  familiar  with  these 
lines;  but  they  came  to  him  now  with 
a  new  and  a  powerful  personal  appeal. 
Try  as  he  would  to  prevent  it,  the  sweet, 
song-laden  voice  haunted  him,  and  the 
words  kept  repeating  themselves  again 
and  again  in  his  memory.  Before  he 
slept  he  manfully  faced,  in  the  presence 
of  his  Saviour,  the  great  question  of 

24>2 


i  t 

^<£ 

^       I 

o 

en 

o 


COME,  THOU  FOUNT  OF  EVERY  BLESSING 

his  soul's  salvation,  and  won  the  vic- 
tory. "  The  peace  that  passeth  under- 
standing "  came  to  him,  and  he  nobly- 
resolved  that  henceforward  his  life 
should  be  devoted  to  higher  aims  and 
to  holier  purposes.  Filled  with  happi- 
ness and  sweet  content  he  went  to  rest, 
his  last  waking  thought  being 

"  Here  's  my  heart :   O  take  and  seal  it, 
Seal  it  from  Thy  courts  above." 


24S 


XII 

STAND  UP,  STAND  UP  FOR 
JESUS 


fetanb  up,  jftanb  up  for  3ltinsil 

ge  jfolbiersi  of  tfje  trosis; ; 
Htft  ijtst)  ?l^t£(  topal  banner, 

3Jt  mujst  not  buffet  loisi. 
Jf  rom  bictorp  unto  bictorp 

M^  arm?  J^e  sifiaU  leab 
Cill  eber?  foe  is  banquisb'b, 

^nh  Cbrtst  is;  Horb  inbeeb. 

^tanb  up,  fiStanb  up  for  SItsinil 

tILtt  solemn  biatcljbjorb  bear; 
M  bJbile  pe  sleep  J^t  suffers, 

^tpap  tDitb  sbame  anb  fear ; 
l^bere*er  pe  meet  toitb  ebil, 

^itbin  pou  or  bjitljout, 
Cbarge  for  tbe  <§ob  of  J^attleS, 

^nh  put  tbe  foe  to  rout ! 

^tanb  up,  stanb  up  for  Sftinsi  I 

^be  trumpet  call  obep ; 
Jf ortb  to  tbe  migbtp  conflict, 

3n  tbiJE«  W^  glorious  bap, 
"ge  tbat  are  nten  nobj  serbe  Sim," 

JUgainst  unnumber*b  foes ; 
Het  courage  rise  bjitb  banger, 

Jlnb  strengtb  to  strengtb  oppose. 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

^tanb  up,  sitanb  up  for  H^esiuss! 

^tanli  in  ^i^  s(trenstf)  alone ; 
ZKfje  arm  of  flesfft  trjill  fail  j>ou, 

ge  bare  not  trusit  j>our  oton. 
j^ut  on  tfje  #ogpel  armour, 

€aci)  piece  put  on  toitf)  praj»er ; 
ll^fjere  butj>  callsi,  or  banger, 

S?e  neber  toanting  tijerel 

^tanb  up,  sitanb  up  for  Hfes^usi ! 

€aclj  golbier  to  fjijf  pojst ; 
Closie  up  ti)e  broken  column, 

!lnb  £it)out  tbrousb  all  tbe  bo£^t ! 
iHafee  goob  tlje  lo£(£f  sfo  Ijeabp, 

Jin  tfjosie  tbat  jstill  remain, 
^nb  probe  to  all  arounb  pou 

^tat  beatt  itsfelf  isi  gain! 

^tanb  up,  £(tanb  up  for  ^Tesfufif  t 

tKfje  sstrif e  tDill  not  be  long ; 
W^in  bap  tbe  noisfe  of  battle, 

Cjje  next  tfje  bictor*£{  sfong. 
Co  bim  tbat  obercometb, 

^  crotpn  of  life  2iball  be ; 
?|e  biitb  tfje  i^ins  of  #lorp 

^batt  reign  eternallp  I 


STAND  UP,  STAND  UP  FOR 
JESUS 


OD,  who,  to  save  a  lost 
world,  spared  not  His 
own  beloved  Son,  some- 
times leads  His  earthly 
children  through  deep 
waters  in  order  that  others,  through 
their  sufferings,  may  be  brought  to  a 
saving  knowledge  of  Him.  Blessed 
are  we  if  we  have  the  spiritual  insight 
to  discern  the  Father  love  hidden  be- 
hind the  hand  that  chastens;  and  thrice 
blessed  are  we  if  we  can,  at  such  times, 
imitate  the  disciples  of  old,  who  went 
on  their  way  "  rejoicing  that  they  were 
counted  worthy  to  suffer  shame  for  His 
name." 

Cowper's  oft-quoted  lines, 

"  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way, 
His  wonders  to  perform," 

never   had   more    singular   verification 
than  in  the  pathetic  chain  of  circum- 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

stances  which  gave  to  America  one 
of  its  most  popular  and  soul-stirring 
hymns,  "  Stand  up,  Stand  up  for 
Jesus."  In  its  martial  and  inspirational 
character  it  strikingly  suggests  the 
great  English  processional  hynm,  "  On- 
ward, Christian  Soldiers."  The  two  are 
also  similar  in  that  both  were  composed 
at  a  single  sitting  to  fill  a  temporary 
need  —  one,  as  a  marching  song  to 
grace  a  holiday  for  a  group  of  English 
school  children;  the  other,  to  give  em- 
phasis, at  the  close  of  a  sermon,  to  the 
dying  word^  of  a  brilliant  young  Ameri- 
can minister,  who  passed  from  earth  in 
the  flood-tide  of  his  fame  and  useful- 
ness. The  Church  at  large  was  in  need 
of,  and  had  waited  long  for,  just  such 
inspiring  battle  calls  to  kindle  the  mar- 
tial spirit  in  loyal  Christian  hearts ;  and 
both  hymns  are  destined  to  abide  for- 
ever in  our  books  of  spiritual  song. 
Although  each  was  born  in  a  night,  and 
in  the  closing  half  of  the  nineteenth 

250 


STAND  UP,  STAND  UP  FOR  JESUS 

century,  yet  each  has  happily  caught 
and  expressed  the  indomitable  spirit 
which  has  made  our  Church  militant 
the  great  power  it  has  been  throughout 
the  ages.  It  is  eminently  fitting  that 
these  important  additions  to  hymnol- 
ogy  should  be  contributed  by  two  of 
the  greatest  Christian  nations  of  the 
world. 

A  pathetic  and  abiding  interest  at- 
taches to  the  origin  of  the  American 
hymn.  The  Rev.  Dudley  A.  Tyng  was 
a  bright  young  Episcopalian  rector, 
who  had  been  obliged  to  sever  his  pas- 
toral relations  with  the  Church  of  the 
Epiphany,  Philadelphia,  on  account  of 
his  outspoken  views  on  the  curse  of 
slavery;  and  had,  in  1857,  organised 
the  Church  of  the  Covenant. 

He  was  singularly  gifted,  even  as  a 
boy.  At  the  age  of  six  he  was  able  to 
read  intelligently  Latin  authors,  and 
about  this  time  was  given  a  hand- 
some copy  of  Virgil   because   of  his 

251 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

ability  to  read  the  Mantuan  bard.  At 
fourteen  he  entered  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  from  which  institution 
he  was  graduated  at  eighteen  with 
distinguished  honours. 

As  a  minister,  he  early  attracted  at- 
tention by  his  eloquence,  his  deep  spir- 
ituality, and  his  beautiful  simplicity  of 
character.  "  His  spirit  of  Christian 
liberality  shone  out  in  all  his  sermons 
and  public  addresses;  and  it  was  not 
difficult  to  discover  that  the  subject  held 
dearest  to  his  heart  —  save  only  the 
conversion  of  souls  —  was  to  see  a  more 
fraternal  spirit  cultivated  among  all 
denominations  of  Christians.  Deep  in 
his  convictions  of  the  truth  and  fulness 
of  the  Gospel  of  the  Saviour;  honest 
and  steadfast  in  their  profession;  elo- 
quent and  earnest  in  their  avowal;  it 
was  his  delight  and  glory  to  preach 
them  everywhere,  and  always  in  their 
simplicity  and  power.  Gentle  in  feel- 
ing, calm  in  temper,  patient  under  op- 

Q52 


STAND  UP,  STAND  UP  FOR  JESUS 

position,  he  preserved  an  equanimity  of 
manner  which  won  for  him  the  admira- 
tion and  love  of  thousands.  Honouring 
his  Master  in  life,  he  glorified  Him  in 
death  by  testifying  to  the  power  of 
grace  in  giving  him  perfect  peace,  a 
certainty  of  immortality,  and  of  eternal 
life." 

Such  was  Dudley  Tyng,  the  beloved 
of  all  who  knew  him.  Dr.  Robert  Ellis 
Thompson  writes:  "The  first  Sunday 
I  was  in  America,  April,  1857,  my  old- 
est brother  took  me  to  the  National 
Hall  on  Market  Street,  to  hear  a  gifted 
young  clergyman,  who  had  been  driven 
from  his  church  (Epiphany)  for  speak- 
ing out  against  slavery.  Although 
only  a  boy  at  the  time,  I  was  impressed 
by  the  earnestness  and  simplicity  of 
Dudley  Tyng.  I  afterwards  heard 
him  described  as  one  of  the  saintliest 
men  in  our  city's  ministry." 

Mr.  Tyng  was  prominently  identi- 
fied  with  the  Young  Men's  Christian 

253 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Association,  and  was  one  of  the  leaders 
in  the  great  revival  of  1857-58,  known 
far  and  wide  as  "  The  Work  of  God  in 
Philadelphia." 

On  the  30th  of  March,  1858,  at  the 
noonday  meeting  in  Jayne's  Hall,  he 
preached  a  powerful  sermon  from  the 
text,  "  Go  now,  ye  that  are  men,  and 
serve  the  Lord."  The  sermon  was  Pen- 
tecostal in  its  effects  upon  the  five 
thousand  men  who  listened  to  it,  and  at 
least  one-fifth  of  them,  it  is  said,  de- 
clared their  intention  to  lead  a  Christian 
life.  Perhaps  no  discourse  of  modern 
times  was  ever  followed  by  so  many 
conversions. 

^  Two  weeks  later,  Tuesday,  April 
13th,  he  was  in  his  country  home, 
"  Brookfield,"  near  Conshohocken, 
Pennsylvania,  and  left  his  study  to 
pay  a  brief  visit  to  the  barn  to  inspect 
a  corn-shelling  machine  that  was  being 
operated  by  mule  power.  He  paused 
to  say  a  kindly  word  to  the  animal 

254 


STAND  UP,  STAND  UP  FOR  JESUS 

and  to  pat  him  on  the  head;  as  he 
did  so,  the  sleeve  of  his  gown  became 
caught  in  the  machinery,  and  before  he 
could  be  released  his  right  arm  was  fear- 
fully lacerated;  indeed,  it  was  almost 
torn  from  his  body. 

As  an  illustration  of  how  little  atten- 
tion was  given  in  those  days  by  the 
papers  to  gathering  important  news 
items,  it  is  only  necessary  to  state  that 
although  the  distinguished  preacher  was 
injured  on  Tuesday,  April  13th,  the 
first  mention  of  it  in  the  daily  Ledger 
was  on  Friday,  the  16th,  and  then  the 
entire  incident  was  passed  over  in  eight 
brief  lines.  On  the  following  Monday, 
the  19th,  a  seven-line  paragraph  in  the 
same  paper  stated  that  Mr.  Tyng's  arm 
had  been  amputated  on  the  previous 
Saturday,  close  to  the  shoulder;  and 
that  during  the  operation  the  patient 
had  been  placed  under  the  influence  of 
chloroform.  On  Tuesday,  the  20th, 
there  appeared  a  fourteen-line  state- 

255 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

ment  of  his  death,  which  had  occurred 
on  the  previous  afternoon;  and  a  short 
review  of  the  dreadful  accident. 

The  news  of  Mr.  Tyng's  death  was 
received  with  many  manifestations  of 
grief;  and  long  before  three  o'clock  on 
the  afternoon  of  April  22d,  the  time 
fixed  for  his  funeral,  the  building  on 
Chestnut  Street  in  which  the  service 
was  to  be  held  was  crowded,  "  while 
around  the  doors  were  thousands 
anxious  but  unable  to  obtain  a  place 
within." 

Ministers  representing  every  evan- 
gelical denomination  were  seated  on 
the  platform,  and  several  of  them  made 
brief  addresses.  The  entire  service  was 
unusually  impressive  and  tender,  and 
was  a  splendid  tribute  to  the  worth  of 
the  saintly  young  minister.  On  his 
coffin  plate  were  the  dates : 

"  Born,  January  12th,  1825. 
Died,  April  19th,  1858." 

256 


STAND    UP,    STAND    UP    FOR    JESUS 

We  have  gone  into  details  thus  par- 
ticularly in  order  to  correct  a  number 
of  errors  which  we  have  seen  in  print 
concerning  the  events  here  narrated/ 

The  last  hours  of  Mr.  Tyng  were 
touching  in  the  extreme.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  his  death,  after  a  long  night  of 
exhaustive  suffering,  he  said,  "  Sing! 
sing!  Can  you  not  sing!"  Then  he 
himself  began  "  Rock  of  Ages."  His 
father,  the  Rev.  Stephen  H.  Tyng, 
D.D.,  writes:  "We  followed  him,  and 
we  sang  together  the  first  two  verses, 

1  The  following  are  some  of  the  errors  of  statement 
made  in  connection  with  the  death  of  Mr.  Tyng  : 

*'  Though  not  yet  thirty  years  old." 

*'0n  Sunday^  April  IGth,  he  preached  at  a  union 
service  held  in  Jayne's  Hall,  at  which  five  thousand 
people  were  present."  The  16th  of  April,  1858,  came 
on  Friday,  and  on  that  day  Mr.  Tyng  was  slowly  dying 
of  his  wound. 

'*  In  the  hope  of  saving  his  life,  three  amputations 
were  made." 

*'  Dr.  Duffield  composed  the  follovdng  popular  hymn 
to  be  sung  after  his  sermon." 

And  even  Dr.  Duffield  himself,  writing  in  1883,  with 
a  quarter  of  a  century  separating  him  from  the  tragic 
death  of  his  friend,  states :  "  His  arm  was  torn  out  by 
the  roots.     His  death  occurred  in  a  few  hours." 
17  257 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

but  he  could  sing  no  more,  no  more 
could  we  —  sorrow  silenced  us  all." 

Among  his  last  intelligible  words 
were,  "  Now,  father  dear,  kiss  me  once 
more."  And  as  his  father  bent  with 
a  breaking  heart  over  his  boy  and 
kissed  him,  he  said,  "  Good  night,  dear 
father." 

Just  a  little  while  before  he  passed 
into  the  shadow  that  opens  on  the  eter- 
nal dawn,  his  father  asked  him  if  he  had 
any  word  for  the  young  men,  and  for 
the  ministers  who  had  been  so  closely 
associated  with  him  in  the  great  revival 
work.  "  Not  now,"  he  said;  "  I  am  too 
much  exhausted " ;  but  after  a  little 
while  he  continued,  "Now,  father,  I 
am  ready.  Tell  them,  *  Let  us  all  stand 
up  for  Jesus.'  " 

This  was  the  dying  message  of  one 
of  the  truest  souls  that  ever  throbbed 
responsive  to  the  love  of  the  Master; 
and  it  was  this  dying  message  which  on 
the  inspired  wings  of  poesy  has  been 

958 


'now,    father^   I   AM    READY,    TELL    THEM^   'lET   US   ALL 

STAND  UP  FOR  jEsus/  " — Vage  258, 


STAND    UP,    STAND    UP    FOR    JESUS 

a  clarion  call  to  duty  and  faithfulness 
wherever  Christianity  is  known.  Dud- 
ley Tyng's  last  exhortation  was  caught 
up  by  his  friend,  Dr.  George  Duffield, 
and  immortalised  in  his  fine  hymn, 
"  Stand  up,  Stand  up  for  Jesus.'*  On 
the  Sunday  succeeding  Mr.  Tyng's 
death.  Dr.  Duffield  preached  a  ser- 
mon from  Ephesians  6 :  14,  —  "  Stand, 
therefore,  having  your  loins  girt  about 
with  truth,  and  having  on  the  breast- 
plate of  righteousness."  He  composed 
the  words  of  the  now  famous  hymn  as 
a  closing  and  effective  plea  to  this  dis- 
course, little  dreaming  that  these  verses 
would  make  his  name  better  known  and 
longer  remembered  than  all  his  other 
works. 

Dr.  Duffield  speaks  of  Mr.  Tyng  as 
"  one  of  the  noblest,  bravest,  manliest 
men  I  ever  met." 

"  The  Superintendent  of  the  Sunday- 
school,"  wrote  Dr.  Duffield,  "had  a 
fly  leaf  of  the  hymn  printed  for  the 

269 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

children.  A  stray  copy  found  its  way 
into  a  Baptist  paper,  and  from  that 
paper  it  has  gone  in  English,  and  in 
German  and  Latin  translations,  all  over 
the  world.  The  first  time  the  author 
heard  it  sung  outside  of  his  own  denom- 
ination was  in  1864,  as  the  favourite 
song  of  the  Christian  soldiers  of  the 
Army  of  the  James.  .  .  .  Notwith- 
standing the  many  mutilations  and 
alterations  and  perversions  to  which 
this  hymn  has  been  subjected,  it  is  but 
proper  to  say  that  since  the  night  it  was 
written,  it  has  never  been  altered  by  the 
author  in  a  single  verse,  a  single  line, 
or  a  single  word;  and  it  is  his  earnest 
wish  that  it  shall  continue  unaltered 
until  the  Soldiers  of  the  Cross  shall  re- 
place it  by  something  better."  The 
copy  of  the  hymn  accompanying  this 
chapter  is  as  Dr.  Duffield  originally 
composed  it. 

Again  Dr.  DufReld  writes :    "  There 
is  one  pleasure  I  have  enjoyed  in  hynms 

260 


STAND  UP,  STAND  UP  FOR  JESUS 

which  is  somewhat  personal  and  of  its 
own  kind.  On  three  different  occasions 
—  once  in  the  General  Assembly  at 
Brooklyn,  once  at  a  meeting  of  the 
A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  and  once  at  a  mass- 
meeting  of  Sunday-schools  in  Illinois, 
when  outward  and  inward  troubles  met, 
and  I  was  in  great  and  sore  affliction  — 
I  have  entered  the  church  and  found 
that  the  great  congregation  was  sing- 
ing *  Stand  up,  Stand  up  for  Jesus.' 

"  The  feeling  of  comfort  was  inex- 
pressible, to  have  my  own  hymn  thus 
sung  to  me  by  those  unaware  of  my 
presence.  It  was  as  though  an  angel 
strengthened  me." 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  Dr. 
Duffield  long  kept  on  the  wall  of  his 
study  a  cob  of  corn  from  the  barn  floor 
where  Mr.  Tyng  received  his  mortal 
wound. 

'  Some  one  has  written :  "  Strange  that 
a  short  hymn,  struck  off  in  an  hour  or 
two  as  a  fitting  peroration  to  a  funeral 

261 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

sermon  on  a  young  minister  who  had 
come  to  a  tragic  end,  should  be  so  hon- 
oured as  to  cast  all  the  other  works  of 
the  author  into  the  shade.  What  are 
all  his  efforts  compared  to  this  martial 
song  so  hastily  written,  so  strangely 
born?  When  all  his  sermons  shall  have 
been  forgotten  and  the  walls  of  the 
churches  to  which  he  so  faithfully  min- 
istered shall  have  fallen,  this  noble  lyric, 
written  in  the  white  heat  of  a  grand 
elate  hour,  will  still  be  a  power  in  the 
land,  because  fragrant  with  the  name 
of  Dudley  Tyng,  and  still  more  with 
that  Name  which  is  above  every  name 
in  Heaven  or  on  earth." 

Dr.  George  DufReld  was  born  of  dis- 
tinguished ancestry.  His  great-grand- 
father. Dr.  George  Duffield,  was  the 
pastor  of  the  historic  Third  Presby- 
terian Church,  Philadelphia,  during  the 
Revolution,  and  his  patriotism  was  so 
pronounced  that  a  price  was  set  upon 
his  head  by  the  British.    One  of  his  first 

362 


STAND    UP,    STAND    UP    FOR    JESUS 

churches  was  protected  on  all  sides  by 
fortifications,  and  during  divine  service 
sentinels  kept  watch  against  hostile 
Indians.  "  He  was  literally  a  man 
of  war  from  his  youth.  He  was 
quite  as  much  at  home  at  the  head 
of  a  company  of  riflemen,  protect- 
ing the  homes  of  the  settlers,  as  he 
was  in  drawing  his  apt  and  vivid 
illustrations  in  the  pulpit."  Of  the 
one  hundred  and  ten  signers  to  his 
call  to  the  Third  Church,  Philadelphia, 
sixty-seven  served  in  the  Revolutionary 
War.  Upon  a  certain  Sabbath,  it  is 
said,  he  ascended  his  pulpit,  and  look- 
ing over  the  congregation,  exclaimed: 
"  There  are  too  many  men  here  this 
morning;  I  am  going  to  the  front!" 
His  splendid  service  to  the  cause  of 
patriotism  is  a  matter  of  history,  and 
is  too  well  known  to  need  repetition 
here. 

It   will  thus   be   seen  that   George 
Duffield,  the  author  of  our  hymn,  had 

263 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

martial  blood  in  his  veins,  which  well 
fitted  him  to  write  a  stirring  battle  call. 
He  was  born  in  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania, 
in  1818;  was  graduated  from  Yale  Col- 
lege in  1837,  and  from  Union  Theologi- 
cal Seminary  three  years  later.  His 
first  pastorate  was  over  the  Fifth  Pres- 
byterian Church,  Brooklyn,  where  he 
remained  seven  years,  after  which  he 
spent  four  years  in  charge  of  the  First 
Church,  Bloomfield,  New  Jersey.  In 
1851  he  assumed  pastoral  care  over  the 
Northern  Liberties  Central  Church, 
Philadelphia,  where  he  remained  until 
1861,  when  he  resigned  and  subse- 
quently had  successive  pastorates  in 
Adrian,  Michigan,  Galesburg,  Illinois, 
and  Saginaw,  Michigan.  He  died  in 
Bloomfield,  New  Jersey,  July  16th, 
1888. 

Dr.  Charles  E.  Bronson,  of  Phila- 
delphia, thus  writes  of  him:  "Dr. 
Duffield  was  a  predecessor  of  mine  in 
Saginaw.    He  was  a  man  solid  in  char- 

264 


STAND  UP,  STAND  UP  FOR  JESUS 

acter,  learned,  and  held  in  profound 
respect  by  the  entire  community.  He 
left  an  abiding  mark  on  the  ideals  and 
life  of  the  whole  vicinity.  He  was  a 
man  of  fervent  piety.  His  whole  fam- 
ily were  highly  gifted,  and  have  left 
their  mark  on  every  department  of  life 
in  which  they  have  toiled." 

The  loyal  devotion,  dauntless  cour- 
age, and  sublime  optimism  of  Dr. 
Duffield's  great  hymn  find  their  fitting 
culmination  in  the  inspiring  declaration 
of  faith  with  which  it  ends: 

"  To  him  that  overcometh, 
A  crown  of  life  shall  be ; 
He  with  the  King  of  Glory 
Shall  reign  eternally  !  "^ 


26& 


XIII 

THERE    IS   A   FOUNTAIN 
FILLED   WITH   BLOOD 


tlTijere  i&  a  fountain  f tUeb  toitf)  bloob 
JBraton  from  Cmmanuers;  beinsi ; 

l^nb  fliinnersf,  plungeti  tieneatlj  tljat  floob, 
ILoit  all  tiietr  g^niitv  sitains(. 

tlTfte  bping  tfjief  rejoiced  to  jJee 

tKfjat  fountain  in  fiis;  bap; 
jllnb  tftere  tatje  3f,  as;  bile  as;  te, 

l^a£(j)eb  all  mp  iim  atoap. 

©ear  bping  Hamb,  Cf)p  precious;  bloob 

^tiall  neber  los;e  its;  poloer 
tKill  all  tfje  rans;omeb  CfjurcJj  of  ^ob 

Pe  sfabeb,  to  s;in  no  more. 

Cer  s;ince,  bp  faitfj,  3J  sfato  tfje  fl;tream 

€f)|>  flobjing  bjounbss  sfupplp, 
3l^beeming  lobe  fja^  tttn  m?  tfjeme, 

^nb  s;f)aa  be  till  3  bie. 

Wf^tn  in  a  nobler,  stoeeter  s;ong, 

3  *a  s;in5  Cf)?  pobjer  to  sfabe, 
W^tn  tW  poot  lijjping,  s;tammenn5  tonaue 

Hiefli  £Stlent  in  tt)e  srabe. 


WILLIAM    COWPER,   AUTHOR    OF       THERE    IS    A    FOUNTAIN 

FILLED  WITH  blood/' — Page  270. 


THERE    IS    A   FOUNTAIN 
FILLED    WITH    BLOOD 


ITERATURE  fur- 
nishes few  stories  more 
pathetic  than  that  of 
William  Cowper,  whose 
great  revival  hymn, 
"There  Is  a  Fountain  Filled  with 
Blood,"  has  led  many  immortal  souls 
to  a  saving  knowledge  of  the  Master, 
and  has  been  world-wide  in  its  hallowed 
and  blessed  influences. 

The  Rev.  S.  W.  Christophers  thus 
writes:  "Unhappy,  and  yet  happy 
Cowper!  Who  does  not  weep  over  his 
sorrows?  Who  does  not  bless  Heaven 
for  his  genius,  his  devotion,  and  his 
works?  .  .  .  With  a  fancy  ever  fresh, 
a  poetic  genius  as  pure  and  clear  as  the 
morning,  and  amidst  all  his  fears,  with 
a  heart  most  tenderly  alive  to  good,  and 
most  warmly  devoted  to  his  Redeemer, 
he  graced  his  friend  Newton's  Olney 

271 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OP    THE    "vYORLD 

Hymn-book  with  many  a  precious 
gem." 

William  Cowper  was  the  son  of  the 
Rev.  John  Cowper,  D.D.,  Rector  of 
the  Parish  of  Great  Berkhampstead  in 
Hertfordshire,  England,  where  the 
poet  was  born  November  26,  1731. 

His  mother,  to  whom  he  was  singu- 
larly devoted,  was  a  beautiful  Christian 
character.  She  held  her  boy  the  dearer 
because  he  was  her  only  surviving  child. 
Marion  Harland  gives  us  this  tender 
glimpse  of  mother  and  son ;  "  Her  own 
hands  would  wrap  him  in  his  scarlet 
cloak,  and  settle  upon  his  sunny  head 
the  velvet  cap  that  arrayed  him  for  his 
first  day  at  school.  Other  mothers'  eyes 
moisten  in  contemplating  the  group  at 
the  Rectory  door.  The  small  delicately 
featured  face  of  the  child  alight  with 
gleeful  pride  in  the  '  bauble  coach ' 
built  for  his  express  use;  the  yearning 
smile,  more  sad  than  tears,  in  the  sweet 
eyes  bent  downward  upon  her  boy,  as 

272 


THERE    IS    A    FOUNTAIN 

both  bade  farewell  to  the  babyhood  he 
left  behind  in  his  trial-trip  into  the  wide, 
cold  world;  the  '  Gardener  Robin/  dele- 
gated to  draw  the  young  master  to  the 
*  dame-school,'  consequential  in  the 
sense  of  the  trust  reposed  in  him. 
There  is  nothing  more  common  than 
the  scene  in  our  changeful,  working- 
day  world,  and  not  many  things  more 
beautiful." 

This  ideal  relation  was  destined  to  be 
all  too  short.  Two  days  before  the 
petted  child  reached  the  close  of  his 
sixth  year  his  mother  died.  His  grief 
over  his  irreparable  loss  was  almost 
boundless.  When  he  was  fifty-six  years 
old,  and  his  mother  had  been  in  her 
grave  for  half  a  century,  a  cousin  sent 
him  her  miniature.  He  wrote  this 
touching  acknowledgment:  "I  had 
rather  possess  my  mother's  picture  than 
the  richest  jewel  in  the  British  crown; 
for  I  loved  her  with  an  aif ection  that 
her  death,  fifty  years  since,  has  not  in 

18  273 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

the  least  abated."  Again  he  writes: 
"  I  can  truly  say  that  not  a  week  passes 
(perhaps  I  might  with  equal  veracity 
say  a  day)  in  which  I  do  not  think  of 
her." 

We  read  with  intense  indignation 
that  "  At  six  years  of  age  this  little 
mass  of  timid  and  quivering  sensibil- 
ity was,  in  accordance  with  the  cruel 
custom  of  the  time,  sent  to  a  large 
boarding-school,"  where  the  boys  of  the 
advanced  classes  tyrannised  over  the 
younger  scholars,  and  "  whipped  the 
little  fellows  into  the  most  servile  fags." 
The  heart-broken  and  motherless  boy, 
because  of  his  extreme  sensitiveness  and 
the  loving  care  which  had  crowned  his 
earlier  years,  underwent  mental  and 
physical  suffering  such  as  rarely  comes 
to  a  life  so  young. 

Of  this  period  he  afterwards  wrote: 
"My  chief  affliction  consisted  in  my 
being  singled  out  from  all  the  other 
boys,  by  a  lad  of  almost  fifteen  years, 

274 


THERE    IS    A    FOUNTAIN 

as  a  proper  object  upon  whom  he  might 
loose  the  cruelty  of  his  temper.  .  .  . 
His  savage  treatment  of  me  impressed 
me  with  such  dread  of  his  figure  upon 
my  mind,  that  I  now  remember  of  be- 
ing afraid  to  lift  my  eyes  upon  him 
higher  than  to  his  knees,  and  that  I 
knew  him  better  by  his  shoe-buckles 
than  by  any  other  part  of  his  dress." 

He  was,  at  the  age  of  ten,  sent  to 
Westminster  School,  where  the  condi- 
tions were  scarcely  better  than  at  Dr. 
Pitman's.  Doubtless  his  wretched  ex- 
periences at  school,  together  with  his 
grief  over  his  mother's  death,  were  the 
foundation  of  the  melancholy  and  de- 
pression of  spirit  which  clouded  so 
much  of  his  after  life. 

On  leaving  school  he  studied  law, 
and  while  thus  engaged  fell  deeply  in 
love  with  his  cousin,  who  returned  his 
affection;  but  they  were  not  permitted 
to  wed,  the  father  objecting  on  account 
of   the   close   relationship.      Both   re- 

275 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

mained  true  to  their  early  dream  of 
happiness  and  never  married.  This 
great  heart  disappointment  also  had  its 
disquieting  effect  upon  Cowper's  mind. 
The  dread  shadows  of  insanity,  which 
on  more  than  one  occasion  prompted 
him  to  suicide,  began  to  envelop  him; 
and  although  they  lifted  now  and  then, 
and  reason  was  temporarily  enthroned, 
yet 

"  Melancholy  marked  him  for  her  own." 

In  1763  he  was  placed  in  a  private 
asylum,  from  which,  after  a  stay  of 
eighteen  months,  he  was  discharged 
and  pronounced  to  be  restored. 

Soon  after  leaving  the  asylum  he  met 
Mrs.  Unwin,  the  "  Mary  "  of  his  poems, 
who  became  his  most  devoted  friend 
and  comforter.  We  are  told  that  "  she 
watched  over  the  mad  poet  with  the 
utmost  care  and  tenderness;  dispelled 
the  gloom  of  oft-recurring  madness, 
cheered  him  in  moments  of  melancholy 

276 


THERE    IS    A    FOUNTAIN 

despair,  guarded  his  health,  and  di- 
rected his  tremulous  thoughts  in  the 
paths  of  literature.  It  is  to  her  strong 
affection  and  untiring  care  that  we  owe 
the  works  of  Cowper." 

After  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Unwin,  who  was  killed  by  a  fall  from 
his  horse  in  1767,  Mrs.  Unwin,  with  her 
son  and  daughter,  and  Cowper,  on  the 
advice  of  the  Rev.  John  Newton,  re- 
moved to  Olney,  on  the  Ouse,  where 
Newton  was  Curate. 

The  poet  became  deeply  interested 
in  religious  work.  "  Acting  as  a  sub- 
curate  to  Newton,  he  spent  much  of 
the  day  in  attendance  upon  sick  cot- 
tagers. .  .  .  He,  whom  the  presence 
of  strangers  silenced  and  made  awk- 
ward, trampled  diffidence  under  his 
feet,  and  led  prayer-meetings,  exhort- 
ing and  engaging  in  audible  petitions 
in  the  name  of  his  hearers." 

Newton  thus  writes  of  him:  "In 
humility,    simplicity,    and    devotedness 

2TT 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

to  God,  in  the  clearness  of  his  views  of 
evangelical  truth,  the  strength  and 
comfort  he  obtained  from  them,  and 
the  uniform  and  beautiful  example  by 
which  he  adorned  them,  I  thought  he 
had  but  few  equals.  He  was  eminently 
a  blessing,  both  to  me  and  to  my  people, 
by  his  advice,  his  conduct,  and  his 
prayers.  The  Lord,  who  had  brought 
us  together,  so  knit  our  hearts  and 
affections  that  for  nearly  twelve  years 
we  were  seldom  separated  for  twelve 
hours  at  a  time,  when  we  were  awake 
and  at  home.  The  first  six  I  passed  in 
daily  admiring  and  trying  to  imitate 
him;  during  the  second  six,  I  walked 
pensively  with  him  in  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death." 

Taking  such  active  part  in  public 
religious  services  proved  too  much  for 
Cowper's  overwrought  temperament, 
and  he  had  a  return  of  insanity.  Re- 
covering, **  he  turned  his  attention  to 
gardening,   carpentering,   and   taming 

278 


THERE    IS    A    FOUNTAIN 

hares.  He  constructed  a  tiny  summer 
house  on  the  lawn  in  the  garden,  and  at 
six  o'clock  on  summer  mornings  he 
would  be  found  busily  writing  there, 
stopping  now  and  then  to  listen  to  the 
feathered  songsters  or  to  smell  a  fra- 
grant flower  near  by." 

He  now  turned  his  thoughts  more 
seriously  to  literature,  and  was  privi- 
leged to  enjoy  a  few  years  of  sweet 
content,  clouded  now  and  then  by  a 
return  of  his  dreadful  malady,  which 
was  slowly  but  surely  throwing  its  pall 
over  him.  It  was  a  sad  time  in  the  dis- 
tressed household  when  Mrs.  Unwin 
was  stricken  with  paralysis,  which  af- 
fected her  mind.  Cowper  sank  into  one 
of  his  most  despondent  moods,  and  paid 
no  attention  to  anything.  Could  any 
picture  be  more  touching  than  this: 
"  One  morning  Mrs.  Unwin  was  made 
to  understand  that  her  friend  needed 
rousing,  and  was  told  by  the  attending 
physician  to  ask  him  to  walk  with  her. 

279 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

True  to  the  habit  of  attendance  prac- 
tised for  years,  she  beckoned  him  to 
lead  her  to  the  door.  Immediately  he 
rose,  placed  her  arm  in  his,  and  walked 
out.  Thus,  for  the  last  time,  she  had 
unconsciously  rescued  him  from  the 
brink  of  insanity." 

He  survived  his  friend  only  a  few 
years,  during  which  time  he  had  occa- 
sional gleams  of  sanity.  He  died 
quietly  on  the  25th  of  April,  1800,  in 
the  sixty-ninth  year  of  his  age,  and  was 
buried  in  St.  Edmund's  Chapel,  St. 
Nicholas  Church,  East  Dereham. 

Marion  Harland  writes :  "  Mr.  John- 
son has  left  on  record  a  sentence  that 
falls  upon  our  hearts  like  the  calm  of  a 
summer  sunset  after  a  day  of  hurrying 
clouds,  sobbing  gusts,  and  wild  rains: 
'  From  that  moment,  till  the  coffin  was 
closed,  the  expression  into  which  his 
countenance  had  settled  was  that  of 
calmness  and  composure,  mingled,  as  it 
were,  with  holy  surprise.' 

280 


THERE    IS    A    FOUNTAIN 

"  May  we  not  believe,  and  thank  God 
for  the  fancy,  that  the  sweet  mother 
who  had  so  long  had  all  her  other 
children  with  her  in  Heaven  was  gra- 
ciously permitted  to  bear  this  '  afflicted 
soul,  tossed  with  tempest,  and  not  com- 
forted,' the  tidings  that  he  was  a  par- 
taker in  the  '  unspeakable  happiness ' 
he  had  despaired  of  attaining.  Did  the 
welcome  to  the  joy  of  the  Lord  he  had 
never  ceased  to  love  while  he  believed 
himself  shut  out  forever  from  His  pres- 
ence, awaken  the  *  holy  surprise  '  which 
brought  back  youth  and  comeliness  to 
the  face  marred  by  the  awful  and  mys- 
terious sorrow,  as  fearsome  as  it  is  in- 
comprehensible to  us? " 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  in  view  of 
his  mental  disorder,  "  Cowper's  poetry 
is  eminently  healthy,  natural,  and  un- 
affected. He  and  Burns  brought  back 
nature  to  English  poetry.  Besides 
being  a  poet,  he  was,  perhaps,  the  most 
deUghtful  letter-writer  in  the  English 

281 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

language.  Nothing  could  surpass  the 
charm  of  his  epistles  —  full  of  humour, 
gentle  sarcasm,  anecdote,  acute  re- 
mark, and  a  tender  shadow  of  melan- 
choly thrown  over  and  toning  down  the 
whole." 

He  is  described  as  being  "  one  of  the 
loveliest  and  most  accomplished  Chris- 
tian gentlemen  of  his  age."  Southey 
speaks  of  his  being  "  the  most  popular 
poet  of  his  generation  " ;  and  Stop  ford 
Brooke  writes  of  him  as  the  poet  "  who 
has  written,  to  my  mind,  the  noblest 
hymns  for  depth  of  religious  feeling 
and  for  loveliness  of  quiet  style ;  whose 
life  was  as  blameless  as  the  water  lilies 
which  he  loved."  "  The  perfect  struc- 
ture of  his  sentences,"  writes  Marion 
Harland,  "  the  aptness  of  his  imagery, 
the  simplicity  and  force  of  his  diction, 
have  made  him  a  classic,  and  a  model 
to  students  who  would  also  be  scholars." 

Mrs.  Browning's  beautiful  poem,  en- 
titled "  Cowper's  Grave,"  is  known  to 


\ 


theAe  is  a  fountain 

all  lovers  of  verse.    We  give  a  portion 
of  it: 

*'  It  is  a  place  where  poets  crowned  may  feel 

the  heart's  decaying; 
It  is  a  place  where  happy  saints  may  weep 

amid  their  praying; 
Yet  let  the  grief  and  humbleness  as  low  as 

silence  languish: 
Earth   surely   now  may   give  her  calm  to 

whom  she  gave  her  anguish. 

"  O  poets,  from  a  maniac's  tongue  was  poured 
the  deathless  singing! 

O  Christians,  at  your  cross  of  hope  a  hope- 
less hand  was  clinging ! 

O  men,  this  man  in  brotherhood  your  weary 
paths  beguiling. 

Groaned  inly  while  he  taught  you  peace,  and 
died  while  ye  were  smiling! 

"  And  now,  what  time  ye  all  may  read  through 

dimming  tears  his  story, 
How  discord  on  the  music  fell  and  darkness 

on  the  glory, 
And  how  when,  one  by  one,  sweet  sounds 

and  wandering  lights  departed, 
He  wore  no  less  a  loving  face  because  so 

broken-hearted. 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    TilE    WOELD 

"  With  quiet  sadness  and  no  gloom,  I  learn 

to  think  upon  him, 
With  meekness  that  is  gratefulness  to  God 

whose  Heaven  hath  won  him, 
Who    suffered   once    the    madness-cloud   to 

His  own  love  to  blind  him. 
But  gently  led  the  blind  along  where  breath 

and  bird  could  find  him ; 

*'  And  wrought  within  his  shattered  brain 
such  quick  poetic  senses 

As  hills  have  language  for,  and  stars,  har- 
monious influences : 

The  pulse  of  dew  upon  the  grass  kept  his 
within  its  number. 

And  silent  shadows  from  the  trees  refreshed 
him  Hke  a  slumber. 

*'  Wild  timid  hares  were  drawn  from  woods 

to  share  his  home-caresses, 
Uplooking  to  his  human  eyes  with  sylvan 

tendernesses : 
The  very  world,  by  God's  constraint,  from 

falsehood's  ways  removing. 
Its  women  and  its  men  became,  beside  him, 

true  and  loving. 

"  And  though,  in  blindness,  he  remained  un- 
conscious of  that  guiding. 
And  things  provided  came  without  the  sweet 
sense  of  providing, 

284 


THERE    IS    A    FOUNTAIN 

He  testified  this  solemn  truth,  while  phrensy 

desolated,  — 
Nor  man  nor  nature  satisfies  whom  only 
God  created." 

While  living  at  Olney,  Mr.  Newton 
proposed  to  Cowper  that  he  should  join 
him  in  the  preparation  of  a  book  of 
evangelical  hymns.  The  poet  was 
pleased  to  be  of  this  help  to  his  friend, 
and  contributed  sixty-seven  of  the 
famous  "  Olney  Hymns,"  as  they  are 
called.  These  have  since  been  trans- 
lated into  many  languages. 

"  God  Moves  in  a  Mysterious  Way  " 
was  one  of  these  hymns,  and  was  writ- 
ten at  the  close  of  1772,  "  in  the 
twilight  of  departing  reason,"  almost 
immediately  after  Cowper  had  made 
an  effort  to  end  his  life. 

"  There  Is  a  Fountain  Filled  with 
Blood,"  written  about  the  same  time, 
is  a  hymn  which  is  endeared  to  thou- 
sands. There  are  many,  and  there  will 
be  many  more,   who  through  its  im- 

285 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

pelling  influence  "  have  washed  their 
robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb." 

Dr.  Charles  S.  Robinson  thus  writes: 
"  The  incidents  which  might  be  related 
concerning  the  usefulness  of  these  five 
simple  stanzas  would  make  us  think  of 
the  Evangelist's  affectionate  extrava- 
gance :  '  And  there  are  also  many  other 
things  which  Jesus  did,  the  which,  if 
they  should  be  written  every  one,  I  sup- 
pose that  even  the  world  itself  could 
not  contain  the  books  that  should  be 
written'  [John  21:25].  Biographies 
are  full  of  them;  tracts  are  made  out 
of  them;  every  minister  of  the  gospel 
has  his  memory  crowded  with  them. 
Literary  critics  find  great  fault  with 
some  of  the  expressions,  and  declare 
that  people  of  taste  do  not  know  what 
they  are  singing  about  when  they  speak 
of  a  *  fountain  filled,'  and  filled  with 
*  blood,'  the  blood  drawn  from  the  veins 
of   one   man   that   another   might   be 

386 


THERE    IS    A    FOUNTAIN 

*  washed '  in  it.  Still  the  spiritually- 
taught  children  of  God  go  on  singing 
the  lines  undisturbed.  They  know  what 
the  hymn  means ;  they  may  not  be  able 
to  tell  others  exactly,  but  they  go  on 
singing  this,  and  *  Rock  of  Ages  '  with 
it,  till  their  tongues  lie  silent  in  the 
grave." 

W.  T.  Stead  writes:  "All  the  ani- 
madversions are  as  the  lightest  dust  in 
the  balance  compared  with  the  fact  of 
the  marvellous  influence  which  the  sing- 
ing of  this  hymn  has  had  in  softening 
the  hearts  of  men  upon  such  occasions 
of  spiritual  quickening  as  are  known  as 
the  great  Irish  Revivals.  It  has  been 
the  means  of  changing  the  lives  of 
more  men  than  all  those  who  have  ever 
heard  the  name  of  most  of  its  critics." 

If  the  hymn  had  rendered  no  other 
service  to  humanity  than  leading  Sam- 
uel H.  Hadley,  the  late  Superintendent 
of  the  old  McAuley  Water  Street 
Mission,  New  York  City,  to  Christ,  it 

287 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

would  have  been  abundantly  worth 
while.  On  January  29,  1906,  a  short 
time  before  he  went  to  his  heavenly 
reward,  he  thus  wrote: 

"  Many  of  the  hymns  which  are  to 
appear  in  your  book  have  long  been 
familiar  to  me,  but  I  will  speak  of  only 
one :  *  There  Is  a  Fountain  Filled  with 
Blood.'  That  is  my  baptismal  hymn. 
When  I  was  a  poor,  helpless,  dying 
drunkard  in  the  old  Jerry  McAuley 
Mission,  twenty-three  years,  nine 
months,  and  six  nights  ago  to-night, 
after  I  had  made  some  feeble  prayer, 
Jerry  sang  that  hymn  in  that  peculiar 
voice  of  his: 

"  *  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood 
Drawn  from  Emmanuel's  veins; 
And  sinners,  plunged  beneath  that  flood, 
Lose  all  their  guilty  stains.' 

"  I  had  heard  this  dear  old  hymn 
many  times  around  my  father's  fireside 
when  a  boy,  and  it  brought  back  mem- 


THERE    IS    A    FOUNTAIN 

ories  of  happy  days  departed.  When 
Jerry  asked  me  to  pray,  I  did  pray,  and 
Jesus,  the  loving  Saviour,  came  into 
my  heart  and  has  been  there  ever  since. 
I  am  so  glad  that  you  are  going  to  use 
this  hymn  in  your  collection." 

Mr.  Hadley  tells  of  John  M.  Wood, 
a  drunken  sailor,  who  had  been  dis- 
charged from  the  United  States  Navy 
for  chronic  alcoholism,  after  a  service 
of  thirteen  years,  and  who  was  on  the 
way  to  the  river,  determined  to  end  his 
wretched  earthly  life,  when  he  heard  the 
singing  of  "  There  Is  a  Fountain  Filled 
with  Blood,"  a  hymn  which  had  been 
familiar  to  him  in  his  innocent  child- 
hood. The  singing  was  coming  from 
the  old  McAuley  Mission.  He  could 
not  resist  the  temptation  to  enter.  He 
was  converted,  and  never  after  tasted 
whiskey.  He  longed  to  return  to  the 
Navy  Yard  and  tell  his  former  asso- 
ciates of  the  great  blessing  which  had 
come  to  him,  and  finally  obtained  per- 

J9  289 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

mission  to  hold  service  on  the  "  Chi- 
cago.'* So  effective  was  his  plea  that 
when  he  asked  those  who  desired  to 
lead  a  better  life  to  signify  their  in- 
tention by  rising,  nearly  two  hundred 
men  stood  up.  Officers  of  the  Ameri- 
can Seaman's  Friend  Society  were 
present,  and  they  instinctively  felt  that 
this  was  the  man  to  be  made  Chaplain 
of  the  Navy  Yard.  His  power  over 
seamen  was  remarkable,  and  he  suc- 
ceeded in  starting  a  Christian  Endeavor 
Society  on  every  one  of  the  six  war- 
ships of  the  White  Squadron. 

It  was  through  the  singing  of  this 
hymn  by  Ira  D.  Sankey  at  a  meeting 
conducted  by  Dwight  L.  Moody  in 
1870,  that  these  two  blessed  servants  of 
God  were  brought  together  and  were 
led  to  enter  upon  the  great  evangelistic 
efforts  which  resulted  in  the  conversion 
of  many  immortal  souls,  and  which 
continued  for  nearly  thirty  years. 

The  Rev.  T.  B.  Anderson  vn'ites  of 

390 


THERE    IS    A    FOUNTAIN 

a  great  religious  service  once  held  in  a 
city  of  Texas  by  a  prominent  evan- 
gelist. "  The  minister  had  been  preach- 
ing two  and  three  times  a  day  for  nearly 
two  weeks,  and  great  crowds  had  lis- 
tened to  his  eloquent  sermons.  The  last 
Sabbath  afternoon  came,  and  the  build- 
ing was  crowded.  The  preacher  an- 
nounced that  in  view  of  the  long  strain 
to  which  he  had  been  subjected  he  was 
physically  unable  to  deliver  a  sermon, 
but  that  he  would  try  to  make  a  brief 
farewell  address.  After  the  usual 
opening  exercises,  he  spoke  for  a  few 
moments  and  then  began  repeating 
*  There  Is  a  Fountain  Filled  with 
Blood.'  As  he  proceeded  the  effect  was 
electrical.  The  Spirit  took  hold  of  first 
the  preacher  and  then  the  people,  and 
all  were  greatly  moved.  When  he 
reached  the  last  line  he  invited  all  who 
would  accept  Christ  to  come  to  the 
altar,  and  many  pressed  forward. 
It  seemed  that  the   Spirit  came  like 

291 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

an  avalanche  through  this  hymn  that 
afternoon  to  almost  as  many  as  were 
present." 

At  a  meeting  held  by  Torrey  and 
Alexander,  in  Philadelphia,  in  1906, 
Mr.  Alexander  asked  those  present  to 
mention  the  hynms  that  had  the  most 
to  do  with  their  conversion,  and  it  was 
clearly  evident  from  the  responses  that 
"  There  Is  a  Fountain  Filled  with 
Blood  "  led  all  the  others.  Mr.  Alex- 
ander said:  "  I  first  heard  that  blessed 
hymn  in  a  little  log  meeting-house  in 
Tennessee,  and  I  got  some  touches  of 
religion  down  there  that  I  have  never 
been  able  to  get  anywhere  else." 

The  Rev.  G.  P.  Rutledge,  of  Phila- 
delphia, contributes  this  incident  out  of 
his  own  personal  experience :  "In  the 
early  part  of  my  ministry  I  held  a  short 
series  of  meetings  in  the  country.  It 
was  summer,  and  the  services  were  con- 
ducted in  a  grove,  the  pulpit  being  a 
small  cliff. 


THERE    IS    A    FOUNTAIN 

"A  middle-aged  man  had  been 
pointed  out  to  me  as  the  leading  sinner 
of  the  community.  I  immediately 
sought  to  interest  him  in  spiritual  mat- 
ters, but  he  refused  to  converse  with 
me  on  the  subject.  At  the  close  of  the 
last  service  I  announced  that  we  would 
sing  '  There  Is  a  Fountain  Filled  with 
Blood,'  and  then  added,  solemnly,  *  This 
will  be  the  last  of  these  precious  invita- 
tions. In  a  few  moments  we  will  dis- 
perse, and  I  will  be  driven  to  the  train. 
I  doubt  if  I  shall  ever  see  you  again  in 
this  world.  Many  of  you  have  accepted 
Christ,  but  there  is  one  man  among  you 
in  whom  I  am  deeply  interested  and 
with  whom  I  have  tried  to  talk.  I  feel 
that  unless  he  finds  Christ  now  he  may 
be  forever  lost.  I  pray  that  while  we 
sing  this  hymn  he  may  give  his  heart 
to  his  Saviour. 

"When  the  last  stanza  was  being 
sung  he  walked  slowly  through  the 
crowd  and  came  to  me,  with  tears  f all- 

293 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

ing  down  his  cheeks,  and  said,  '  I  want 
to  confess  Jesus  before  this  stammer- 
ing tongue  hes  silent  in  the  grave.'  " 

One  more  incident  must  suffice.  It 
was  written  by  the  Rev.  Frank  B. 
Lynch,  of  St.  Luke's  Methodist 
Church,  Philadelphia: 

"  Many  years  ago  a  theatrical  com- 
pany was  billed  to  play  a  series  of 
Shakespearian  plays  in  St.  Louis,  Mis- 
souri. The  leading  actor  was  a  man 
of  great  ability  but  very  irreligious. 
As  the  engagement  lasted  over  one 
Sunday,  and  as  the  time  on  that  day 
hung  somewhat  heavily,  it  was  pro- 
posed that  some  of  them  attend  a  re- 
vival service  that  was  being  held  in  a 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  under  the 
direction  of  the  Pastor,  who  was  a  noted 
evangelist. 

"  The  actors  went  more  through  curi- 
osity than  from  any  other  considera- 
tion, and  the  leader  especially  boasted 
of  the  amusement  he  expected  to  have 

294. 


THERE    IS    A    FOUNTAIK 

at  the  evening's  '  performance,'  as  he 
termed  it.  The  sermon  was  a  powerful 
presentation  of  the  scene  of  the  great 
day  of  judgment.  It  deeply  affected 
the  audience  and  suppressed  the  amuse- 
ment of  the  actors.  The  leader  was 
the  most  indifferent  of  them  all;  but 
during  the  singing  of  the  hymn,  *  There 
Is  a  Fountain  Filled  with  Blood,'  he 
suddenly  leaned  forward  in  the  pew  and 
burst  into  tears.  The  minister  came 
down  to  him  and  appealed  to  him  to 
come  forward  for  prayers.  To  the 
surprise  of  all,  he  at  once  complied, 
bowed  at  the  altar,  and  was  happily 
converted.  He  at  once  severed  his  con- 
nection with  the  stage,  and  after  proper 
preparation  was  admitted  to  the  min- 
istry, where  he  became  a  most  effective 
preacher  and  evangelist.  He  used  to 
say  that  he  had  successfully  resisted  the 
appeal  of  the  minister,  but  that  the 
hymn  sung  at  the  close  of  the  sermon 
so  vividly  set  forth  his  own  personal 

996 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

relation  to  the  death  of  Christ  and  the 
possibiHties  of  instant  pardon,  that  he 
was  overwhelmed  with  grief  for  his 
sins  and  with  a  desire  for  a  better  life." 
A  source  of  great  grief  to  Cowper, 
when  his  mind  was  overcast,  was  the 
fear  that  God  had  deserted  him.  How 
he  would  have  rejoiced  could  he  have 
known  how  signally  God  would  honour 
him  through  the  ages  by  turning  many 
to  righteousness  through  the  use  of  his 
hymns! 


^6 


XIV 

FROM    GREENLAND'S    ICY 
MOUNTAINS 


Jf rom  <^reenlanb*£(  k^  mountainj^, 

Jf rom  Snbia'jf  coral  £(tranb, 
7Mi)txt  ^ivit*si  £funnj>  fountains 

^U  boton  tbetr  solben  £(anb, 
jFrom  man?  an  ancient  riber, 

Jf  rom  man?  a  palmp  plain, 
Wttv  call  us;  to  belifaer 

(Ktieir  lanb  from  error's;  cfiain. 

W^l^at  tfjoust  tf)e  s;picp  breezes; 

JglotD  sfoft  o*er  Ceplon's;  i£;le; 
tlTljousf)  eberj>  pros;pect  pleas;es;, 

l^nb  onlp  man  is;  bile ; 
M  bain  bitb  labis;b  kinbnes^s^ 

tltt  guilts  of  <@ob  are  sftrobm ; 
tlDiie  ijeatben,  in  i)is;  blinbnests;, 

Pob)£(  bob)n  to  b)oob  anb  s;tone. 

Can  b)e,  b)tos;e  s^ouls;  are  Itstteb 

Witb  b)is;bom  from  on  bisti* 
Can  toe,  to  men  benigbteb, 

Wt)t  lamp  of  life  benp  ? 
S>albation !  0  s;albation ! 

®f)e  jopf  ul  sJounb  proclaim, 
tCiU  eacf)  remote£;t  nation 

Has;  learneb  illes;s;iab's(  iBame. 

299 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

OTlaft,  toaft,  pt  fcombsi,  5|i£i  jftorp, 

J^nir  pou,  j»e  toatersi,  roH, 
CiE,  lifee  a  jsea  of  glorp, 

3Jt  sJpreabsi  from  pole  to  pole ; 
Wm  o'er  our  ransiomeb  nature 

tlTfie  Harnli  for  jiinnersi  jslain, 
3Rebeemer,  ilins.  Creator, 

Jin  Wsisi  returns;  to  retgn. 


900 


FROM    GREENLAND'S    ICY 
MOUNTAINS 


E  regret  that  we  are  able 
to  add  but  little  to 
the  well-known  story  of 
this  matchless  mission- 
ary hymn,  yet  we  gladly 
include  it,  as  no  collection  of  this  kind, 
however  limited  in  its  selection,  would 
be  worthy  of  the  name  unless  it  con- 
tained this  splendid  appeal  for  the 
quickening  of  spiritual  zeal, 

"  Till  each  remotest  nation 

Has  learned  Messiah's  Name." 

Its  poetic  excellence,  its  spiritual 
fervour,  its  fine  optimism,  and  its  thrill- 
ing music  insure  it  an  abiding  place 
in  our  song-books  and  in  our  hearts. 

The  Rev.  David  R.  Breed,  D.D., 
speaks  of  it  in  the  most  appreciative 
terms.  "In  this  particular  class  of 
sacred  literature,"   he   says,   "we   rise 

301 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WOELD 

with  Heber  to  the  very  crest  of  the 
wave;  his  work  is  the  climax.  ...  It 
is  expressed  in  the  choicest  poetic  terms. 
.  .  .  The  diction  is  incomparably  beau- 
tiful. .  .  .  Every  line,  indeed,  is  as  pol- 
ished and  refined  as  it  can  be.  It  is  the 
art  of  the  jeweller  in  the  precious  gems 
of  language." 

How  singularly  inclusive,  from  a 
missionary  view-point,  are  the  opening 
lines : 

"  From  Greenland's  icy  mountains, 

From  India's  coral  strand, 
Where  Afric's  sunny  fountains 

Roll  down  their  golden  sand. 
From  many  an  ancient  river. 

From  many  a  palmy  plain, 
They  call  us  to  deliver 

Their  land  from  error's  chain." 

And  what  could  be  more  appealing 
and  suggestive  than, 

**  Can  we,  whose  souls  are  lighted 
With  wisdom  from  on  high. 
Can  we,  to  men  benighted, 
The  lamp  of  life  deny  ?  " 

302 


GREENLAND'S    ICY    MOUNTAINS 


Some  one  has  well  written :  "It  does 
not  necessarily  take  a  lifetime  to  ac- 
complish immortality.  A  brave  act 
done  in  a  moment,  a  courageous  word 
spoken  at  the  fitting  time,  a  few  lines 
which  can  be  written  on  a  sheet  of 
paper,  may  give  one  a  deathless  name. 
Such  was  the  case  with  Reginald  Heber, 
known  far  and  wide,  wherever  the 
Christian  religion  has  penetrated,  by  his 
unequalled  missionary  hymn,  *  From 
Greenland's  Icy  Mountains.'  " 

Like  such  well-known  hymns  as 
"  Abide  With  Me,"  "  Stand  Up,  Stand 
Up  for  Jesus,"  "  Onward,  Christian 
Soldiers,"  and  others,  it  was  written  at 
a  sitting  and  for  temporary  need,  with 
no  thought  of  its  world-wide  usefulness 
in  the  coming  years. 

Fortunately,  the  story  of  the  origin 
of  the  hymn  has  been  authentically 
preserved,  and  is  as  follows: 

"On  Whitsunday,  1819,  the  late 
Dr.  Shipley,  Dean  of  St.  Asaph  and 

303 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Vicar  of  Wrexham,  preached  a  sermon 
in  Wrexham  Church  in  aid  of  the 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts.  That  day 
was  also  fixed  upon  for  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Sunday  evening  lectures 
intended  to  be  established  in  the  church, 
and  the  late  Bishop  of  Calcutta 
[Heber],  then  Rector  at  Hodnet,  the 
Dean's  son-in-law,  undertook  to  deliver 
the  first  lecture.  In  the  course  of  the 
Saturday  previous,  the  Dean  and  his 
son-in-law  being  together  in  the  vicar- 
age, the  former  requested  Heber  to 
write  something  for  them  to  sing  in  the 
morning,  and  he  retired  for  that  pur- 
pose from  the  table,  where  the  Dean  and 
a  few  friends  were  sitting,  to  a  distant 
part  of  the  room.  In  a  short  time  the 
Dean  inquired,  '  What  have  you  writ- 
ten? '  Heber,  having  then  composed 
the  first  three  verses,  read  them  over. 
*  There,  there,  that  will  do  very  well,' 
said  the  Dean.     *  No,  no ;   the  sense  is 

304 


'he  retired  for  that  purpose  to  a  distant  part  of 
THE  room/' — Page  SOJf.. 


GREENLAND  S    ICY    MOUNTAINS 

not  complete,'  replied  Heber.  Accord- 
ingly, he  added  the  fourth  verse,  and  the 
Dean  being  inexorable  to  his  repeated 
request  of  '  Let  me  add  another,  oh,  let 
me  add  another,'  thus  completed  the 
hymn  .  .  .  which  has  since  become  so 
celebrated.  It  was  sung  the  next  morn- 
ing in  Wrexham  Church  for  the  first 
time." 

The  original  manuscript,  bearing  the 
scar  of  the  hook  on  which  it  was  hung 
by  the  printer  who  put  it  into  type  the 
Saturday  it  was  composed,  is  still  pre- 
served. It  was  exhibited  at  the  World's 
Exhibition  in  London  in  1851.  It  be- 
came the  property  of  Dr.  Thomas 
Raffles,  of  Liverpool,  himself  a  hym- 
nologist  of  some  note,  and  when  his  col- 
lection was  sold  this  manuscript  brought 
forty-two  pounds.  It  is  said  that  the 
collection  on  the  occasion  when  the 
hymn  was  first  sung  amounted  to 
thirty- four  pounds. 

So  perfect  was  the  hymn  in  its  origi- 

20  305 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

nal  conception  that  it  remained  un- 
changed by  its  author  save  in  a  single 
instance  —  the  word  heathen,  in  the  sec- 
ond verse,  being  substituted  for  savage. 

It  would  be  an  interesting  exercise 
for  the  poetically  inclined  to  attempt 
to  suggest  the  verse  that  Heber  would 
have  added  to  the  hymn  had  his  father- 
in-law  consented;  and  yet,  in  view  of 
the  completeness  of  the  lines,  such  a 
task  would  be  exceedingly  difficult. 

When  Heber  was  appointed  Bishop 
of  Calcutta,  a  correspondent  sent  a  copy 
of  his  hymn,  accompanied  by  a  letter, 
to  The  Christian  Observer,  and  both 
letter  and  hymn  were  published  in  that 
paper  in  February,  1823.  The  letter 
is  as  follows : 

"The  accompanying  missionary  hymn 
is  so  beautiful,  considered  as  poetry, 
and  so  honourable  as  the  effusion  of  a 
Christian  mind,  that  I  should  request 
its  insertion  in  your  pages,  even  if  it 
were  not  the  production  of  a  writer 

306 


GREENLAND  S    ICY    MOUNTAINS 

whose  devout  and  elevated  muse  justly 
obtained  your  labours  [a  review  of 
Heber's  "  Palestine,"  which  appeared 
in  The  Observer^ ;  whose  name  has 
since  been  often  mentioned  in  your 
pages  with  high  respect;  and  whose  ap- 
pointment to  a  most  important  station 
in  the  church  of  Christ  [to  be  Bishop 
of  Calcutta]  you  have  recently  an- 
nounced with  a  pleasure  which  is  shared 
by  all  who  have  at  heart  the  moral 
and  spiritual  welfare  of  our  numerous 
fellow-subjects,  native  and  European, 
in  the  East.  The  hymn  having  ap- 
peared some  time  since  in  print,  with 
the  name  of  Reginald  Heber  annexed, 
I  can  feel  no  scruple  in  annexing  that 
name  to  it  on  the  present  occasion. 
There  is  nothing,  either  in  the  sentiment 
or  the  poetry,  but  what  does  honour  to 
the  now  Right  Reverend  Prelate,  while 
it  must  delight  every  Christian  mind  to 
witness  such  devout  ardour  for  the  ex- 
tension of  *  Messiah's  Name,'  in  a  sta- 

307 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

tion  SO  eminently  important  for  giving 
effect  to  that  desire  in  all  those  measures 
which  Christian  piety,  meekness,  and 
prudence  may  suggest." 

A  copy  of  The  Observer  containing 
the  letter  and  hymn  found  its  way 
across  the  Atlantic  and  was  read  by  a 
lady  in  Savannah,  Georgia;  and  it  was 
through  this  means  that  the  words  were 
destined  to  be  associated  with  the  beau- 
tiful music  to  which  they  are  now  sung. 
Robinson  thus  tells  the  story  in  his 
Annotations: 

"  The  tune,  *  Missionary  Hymn,'  to 
which  this  piece  is  universally  sung  in 
America,  was  composed  by  Dr.  Lowell 
Mason.  The  history  of  its  composi- 
tion is  in  like  measure  romantic;  the 
family  of  the  now  deceased  musician 
has  very  kindly  supplied  the  facts: 

"  It  seems  that  a  lady  residing  in 
Savannah,  Georgia,  had  in  som.e  way 
become  possessed  of  a  copy  of  the 
words  sent  to  this  country  from  Eng- 

308 


GREENLAND'S    ICY    MOUNTAINS 

land.  This  was  in  1823.  She  was 
arrested  by  the  beauty  of  the  poetry 
and  its  possibihties  as  a  hymn.  But  the 
meter  of  7s,  6s,  D.  was  almost  new  in 
this  period;  there  was  no  tune  that 
would  fit  the  measure.  She  had  been 
told  of  a  young  clerk  in  a  bank,  Lowell 
Mason  by  name,  just  a  few  doors  away 
down  the  street.  It  was  said  that  he  had 
the  gift  for  making  beautiful  songs. 
She  sent  a  boy  to  this  genius  in  music, 
and  in  a  half  hour's  time  he  returned 
with  this  composition.  Like  the  hymn  it 
voices,  it  was  done  at  a  stroke,  but  it  will 
last  through  the  ages." 

In  the  great  revival  in  Philadelphia 
in  1858,  fuller  mention  of  which  is  made 
in  the  chapter  on  "  Stand  Up,  Stand 
Up  for  Jesus,"  the  United  States  war- 
ship "  North  Carolina  "  was  lying  at 
the  old  navy  yard,  near  the  foot  of 
Washington  Avenue,  on  the  Delaware 
River.  Many  of  the  sailors  attended 
the   services   and  a   number   professed 

309 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WOELD 

conversion.  Getting  into  this  closer 
spiritual  relationship,  they  began  talk- 
ing to  each  other  more  freely  of  their 
homes,  and  it  was  found  that  they  rep- 
resented several  nationalities.  When 
one  stated  that  he  was  from  Greenland, 
they  instinctively  and  spontaneously 
began  singing  Heber's  great  missionary 
hymn. 

Reginald  Heber  was  born  in  Malpas, 
Chester  County,  England,  on  the  21st 
of  April,  1783.  His  father  was  an 
Episcopalian  clergyman,  his  mother 
the  daughter  of  a  clergyman.  "  His 
early  childhood  was  distinguished  by 
mildness  of  disposition,  obedience  to 
parents,  consideration  for  the  feelings 
of  those  around  him,  and  trust  in  the 
providence  of  God,  which  formed, 
through  life,  so  prominent  a  part  of 
his  character." 

He  could  read  the  Bible  with  ease 
when  he  was  five  years  of  age,  and 
"  even   then   was   remarkable   for   the 

310 


GREENLAND  S    ICY    MOUNTAINS 

avidity  with  which  he  studied  it,  and  for 
his  accurate  knowledge  of  its  contents." 
He  also  wrote  very  commendable  verses 
at  an  early  age. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  entered 
Brazenose  College,  Oxford,  November, 
1800,  and  soon  after  won  the  Chan- 
cellor's medal  for  the  best  Latin  verse. 
In  the  spring  of  1803  he  wrote  his  cele- 
brated poem  "  Palestine."  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  who  was  twelve  years  his  senior, 
thus  writes  of  him  at  this  time:  "  I  spent 
some  merry  days  with  Heber  at  Oxford, 
when  he  was  writing  his  prize  poem 
[*  Palestine '].  He  was  then  a  gay 
young  fellow,  a  wit  and  a  satirist,  and 
burning  for  literary  fame.  My  laurels 
were  beginning  to  bloom,  and  we  were 
both  madcaps."  One  morning  when 
they  were  breakfasting  together,  a  por- 
tion of  "  Palestine  "  was  read.  "  You 
have  omitted  one  striking  circumstance 
in  your  account  of  the  building  of  the 
temple,"    said    Sir   Walter,    "that   no 

311 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

tools  were  used  in  its  erection."  Before 
the  party  separated,  Heber  had  added 
the  hnes  which  afterwards  became  the 
best-known  of  the  poem: 

"  No  hammer  fell,  no  ponderous  axes  swung ; 
Like  some  majestic  palm  the  mystic  fabric 
sprung, 

Majestic  silence!" 

"  The  success  which  attended  this 
prize  poem  has  been  unparalleled  in  its 
class;  universally  read  at  the  time,  by 
many  committed  to  memory,  it  has  re- 
tained its  place  among  the  higher  poetic 
compositions  of  the  age."  Seventeen 
years  later  the  author  heard  it  sung  at 
Oxford  as  an  oratorio. 

He  spent  1805-06  in  a  Continental 
tour.  In  1807  he  was  ordained  and 
became  the  Rector  of  Hodnet.  Two 
years  later  he  married  the  youngest 
daughter  of  Dean  William  D.  Ship- 
ley, and  one  child  came  to  brighten 
their  lives.     It  was  the  death  of  this 

312 


GREENLAND  S    ICY    MOUNTAINS 

child,  in  early  infancy,  that  prompted 
his  beautiful  hymn  of  submission, 
commencing, 

"  Thou  art  gone  to  the  grave,  but  we  will  not 
deplore  thee." 

In  1820,  an  infectious  disease  ap- 
peared in  the  town  and  neighbourhood 
of  Hodnet.  Mr.  Heber  heroically  gave 
himself  to  ministering  to  the  sick,  and 
when  remonstrated  with,  said:  "  I  am 
as  much  in  God's  keeping  in  the  sick 
man's  chamber  as  in  my  own  room." 
He  caught  the  disease  from  the  poor 
people  of  the  workhouse,  and  was,  for 
a  time,  in  grave  danger  of  losing  his 
life. 

He  was  Rector  of  Hodnet  for  six- 
teen years,  and  greatly  endeared  himself 
to  his  people. 

In  January,  1823,  he  was  appointed 
Bishop  of  Calcutta.  The  following 
month  the  honourary  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Divinity  was  conferred  upon  him  by 

313 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Oxford.  He  sailed  for  India  in  June 
of  that  year,  and  reached  his  destination 
in  October. 

Under  date  of  September  there  is  this 
interesting  reference  in  his  diary: 
"  Though  we  are  now  too  far  off  Cey- 
lon to  catch  the  odours  of  the  land,  yet 
it  is,  we  are  assured,  perfectly  true  that 
such  odours  are  perceptible  to  a  very 
considerable  distance.  In  the  Straits  of 
Malacca  a  smell  like  that  of  a  haw- 
thorne  hedge  is  commonly  experienced; 
and  from  Ceylon,  at  thirty  or  forty 
miles,  under  certain  circumstances,  a  yet 
more  agreeable  scent  is  inhaled." 

He  became  very  popular  in  India, 
and  did  excellent  work  for  the  Master; 
but  he  was  called  to  his  heavenly  reward 
"  in  the  meridian  of  his  reputation  and 
Christian  utility,  leaving  behind  him  no 
recollection  but  of  his  amiable  manner, 
his  sweetness  of  temper,  his  goodness 
of  heart,  his  universal  charity,  his  splen- 
did and  various  talents,  and  all  his  deep 

314 


GREENLAND  S    ICY    MOUNTAINS 

devotion  to  the  duties  of  his  sacred 
caUing." 

He  had  preached  on  the  2d  of  April, 
1826,  and  on  the  following  morning  had 
attended  to  a  number  of  parochial  du- 
ties, among  them  being  the  confirmation 
of  a  class  of  forty- two  members  and 
delivering  to  them  a  stirring  call  to 
faithfulness.  Returning  home,  thor- 
oughly exhausted,  he  retired  to  his  room 
for  a  bath.  Shortly  after,  a  servant,  on 
going  to  the  room,  found  him  dead  in 
the  water,  his  death  having  been  caused 
by  apoplexy.  This  untimely  end  of  his 
earthly  career,  at  the  early  age  of  forty- 
three,  caused  sincere  grief  in  India, 
England,  and  elsewhere. 

"  How  often,"  exclaimed  a  young 
sufferer,  "  do  some  of  Bishop  Heber's 
hymns  rise  within  my  soul,  as  if  the 
hand  of  my  Redeemer  had  touched  all 
the  musical  chords  within  me !  I  sing  to 
myself,  while  the  sea  is  whispering  and 
roaring   by  turns   on   the   beach;   and 

315 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

then  I  look  out  on  the  waters  as  I  lie 
here,  and  love  to  think  of  that  cultivated 
and  gifted  man  crossing  the  deep 
under  the  constraining  power  of  his  Re- 
deemer's love,  and  gladly  sacrificing  all 
the  comforts  and  honours  of  his  native 
land  for  the  joy  of  proclaiming  peace  to 
the  multitudes  of  India.  .  .  .  How  I 
love  to  watch  him  as  the  tear  trembles 
in  his  eyes  at  hearing  one  of  his  own 
blessed  hymns  sung  far  up  in  India,  at 
Meerut,  and  sung,  as  he  says,  *  better 
than  he  had  ever  heard  it  sung  before/ 
Oh,  that  last  kind  address  of  his  to  the 
class  he  confirmed  on  the  day  of  his 
death.  How  often  I  have  read  it! 
*  And  now,'  he  said,  '  depart  in  the  faith 
and  favour  of  the  Lord ;  and  if  what  you 
have  learned  and  heard  this  day  has  been 
so  far  blessed  as  to  produce  a  serious 
and  lasting  effect  on  you,  let  me  en- 
treat you  to  remember  sometimes  in 
your  prayers  those  ministers  of  Christ 
who  have  laboured  for  your  instruction, 

316 


GREENLAND'S    ICY    MOUNTAINS 

that  we  who  have  preached  to  you  may 
not  ourselves  be  cast  away,  but  that  it 
may  be  given  to  us  also  to  walk  in  this 
present  life  according  to  the  words  of 
the  gospel  which  we  have  received  of 
the  Lord,  and  to  rejoice  hereafter  with 
you,  the  children  of  our  care,  in  that 
land  where  the  weary  shall  find  repose 
and  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling; 
where  we  shall  behold  God  as  He  is, 
and  be  ourselves  made  like  unto  Him  in 
innocence  and  happiness  and  immor- 
tality.' Blessed  man!  he  soon  found 
his  rest  after  uttering  these  words. 
How  touching  it  is,  that  story  of  his 
end!  Alone  in  his  last  moments,  and 
his  happy  spirit  suddenly  departing, 
and  leaving  his  body  in  the  waters  of 
the  bath  in  which  he  had  sought  refresh- 
ment after  his  toils." 

It  is  no  small  honour  to  have  been  the 
author  of  several  hymns  which  are,  with- 
out doubt,  among  the  very  best  of  their 
kind:    "From  Greenland's  Icy  Moun- 

317 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

tains,"  as  a  missionary  hymn;  "Holy, 
Holy,  Holy,  Lord  God  Almighty,"  as  a 
hymn  of  adoration;  "  The  Son  of  God 
Goes  Forth  to  War,"  as  a  martial  hymn; 
"By  Cool  Siloam's  Shady  Rill,"  as  a 
child's  hymn;  "  Thou  Art  Gone  to  the 
Grave,  But  We  Will  Not  Deplore  Thee," 
as  a  hymn  of  resignation;  "Bread  of 
the  World  in  Mercy  Broken,"  as  a  com- 
munion hymn;  "When  Through  the 
Torn  Sail  the  Wild  Tempest  is  Stream- 
ing," as  a  sailor's  hymn;  and  "  Brightest 
and  Best  of  the  Sons  of  the  Morning," 
as  a  hymn  to  the  infant  Jesus  —  these 
and  others  will  make  the  name  of  Heber 
familiar  as  long  as  English-speaking 
people  lift  up  their  hearts  in  praise  to 
their  Creator. 


318 


XV 

SAFE  IN  THE  ARMS  OF 
JESUS 


*afe  in  tjie  armsi  of  Sftsui, 

^afe  on  W^  gentle  hvtaiU 
Wbtxt  bp  J^i£f  lobe  o'ersifjabeb, 
^tDeetlp  mp  sioul  s^fiall  vtit 
J^axk !  't  121  tfft  Met  of  angete 

JBorne  in  a  sfong  to  me» 
0\}tv  tfje  f ielbfi(  of  glor?, 
0htv  ti)e  iasiper  s;ea. 

^afe  in  tf)e  atm2(  of  STefifusi, 

^afe  on  Wsi  gentle  l)teas(t; 

Wttxt  lip  J|i£f  lobe  o'ersiJjabeb, 

^toeetlp  mp  s(oul  sit^U  res(t. 

&afe  in  tge  arms;  of  SItmsi, 

^afe  from  corrobing  care, 
^afe  from  tf)e  toorlb's;  temptations^ 

^in  cannot  ftarm  me  tftere. 
Jfree  from  tlje  bligfjt  of  gorroto. 

jFree  from  mp  boubtsi  anb  fearaJ; 
<[^nlp  a  f ebj  ntore  trials;,  — 

<2^nlp  a  feh)  more  tears;! 

3res;usf,  mp  heart's;  bear  3Refuge, 

3res;us;  ^as;  hitb  for  me ; 
Jf irm  on  tfje  i^cfe  of  ^ges( 

€ber  mp  trus;t  s;l)all  be. 

-21  321 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Jlere  let  me  toait  tditfj  patience, 
OTait  titt  tf)e  nigljt  i£f  o*er ; 

Watt  ttU  39  s^ee  tde  morning 
Jgreafe  on  tije  golben  jsljore. 

By  permission  of  W.  H.  Doane,  Esq.  ♦  owner  of  the 
copyright 


SAFE  IN  THE  ARMS  OF 
JESUS 


ILL  CARLETON,  him- 
self a  writer  of  popular 
verse,  truthfully  says : 
"  All  over  this  country 
and,  one  might  say,  the 
world,  Fanny  Crosby's  hymns  are  sing- 
ing themselves  into  the  hearts  and  souls 
of  the  people.  They  have  been  doing 
this  for  many  years,  and  will  do  so  as 
long  as  our  civilisation  lasts.  There  are 
to-day  used  in  religious  meetings  more 
of  her  inspired  lines  than  of  any  other 
poet,  living  or  dead.  .  .  .  Her  sacred 
lyrics  have  been  translated  into  several 
languages.  She  is  easily  the  greatest 
living  writer  of  hymns,  and  will  always 
occupy  a  high  place  among  authors." 

Some  years  ago  the  Sunday  at 
Home  invited  its  readers  to  send  lists 
of  the  one  hundred  English  hymns 
which   stood   highest   in   their   esteem. 

323 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Nearly  three  thousand  five  hundred 
responses  were  received.  A  list  of  the 
most  popular  one  hundred  hymns,  ac- 
cording to  this  selection,  was  compiled. 
"  Rock  of  Ages  "  received  the  highest 
number  of  votes,  3215;  and  the  one 
hundredth,  "  Sometimes  a  Light  Sur- 
prises," 866.  Fanny  Crosby's  hymn, 
"  Safe  in  the  Arms  of  Jesus,"  ranked 
sixty-fifth. 

The  gifted  authoress  of  this  comfort- 
ing hymn  had  the  seeming  misfortune 
to  lose  her  sight  when  only  six  weeks  of 
age,  apparently  through  the  incompe- 
tency of  a  physician  who  treated  her 
for  what  appeared  to  be  at  the  time 
only  a  slight  inflammation  of  the  eyes. 
Throughout  the  years  she  has  borne  her 
affliction  bravely,  and  declares  it  to  be 
her  belief  that  an  all-wise  Father  in- 
tended that  she  should  pass  her  days  in 
darkness  in  order  that  she  might  the 
better  sing  His  praises. 

She  was  born  in  Putnam   County, 

324 


SAFE    IN    THE    ARMS    OF    JESUS 

New  York,  on  the  24th  of  March,  1820, 
of  good  Revolutionary  stock.  She 
grew  into  a  happy,  fun-loving  girl,  and 
her  blindness  did  not  prevent  her  from 
sharing  in  many  of  the  joys  of  child- 
hood. She  writes,  in  her  very  interest- 
ing autobiography,  which  all  should 
read,  that  she  could  climb  a  tree  or  ride  a 
horse  as  well  as  any  of  her  playmates. 
"  Gradually,"  she  says,  "  I  began  to 
lose  my  regret  and  sorrow  at  having 
been  robbed  of  sight:  little  by  little 
God's  promises  and  consolations  came 
throbbing  into  my  mind.  Not  only  the 
Scriptures,  but  the  hymns  that  I  had 
heard  sung  Sabbath  after  Sabbath, 
made  deep  impressions  upon  me." 

When  nine  years  of  age  she  moved 
to  Ridgefield,  Connecticut,  and  there 
lived  with  a  Mrs.  Hawley,  who  fre- 
quently read  to  her  from  the  Bible  and 
from  books  of  verse.  Fanny  must  have 
been  a  remarkably  precocious  child  for 
within   a   year   she   had   committed  to 

325 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

memory  the  first  four  books  of  the  Old 
Testament  and  the  four  Gospels;  she 
could  also  recite  many  poems. 

Her  first  verses  were  written  when 
she  was  eight  years  old,  and  were  very 
creditable  for  one  so  young;  and  they 
were  no  less  commendable  because  of 
their  fine  optimism  —  a  characteristic 
which  has  always  been  prominent  in 
Fanny  Crosby's  nature. 

As  she  grew  older  she  developed  a 
keen  desire  for  knowledge  —  a  desire 
which,  by  reason  of  her  physical  infirm- 
ity, seemed,  for  a  long  time,  to  have 
no  possibility  of  reahsation;  but  in 
1835,  when  she  had  reached  the  age  of 
fifteen,  she  had  the  good  fortune  to  be 
sent  to  a  school  for  the  blind  in  New 
York  City.  This  opportunity  to  im- 
prove her  mental  faculties  filled  her 
with  inexpressible  happiness.  Her  first 
teacher  in  this  institution  was  Dr.  John 
D.  Russ,  who  had  been  associated  with 
Lord  Byron  in  his  romantic  efforts  to 

326 


SAFE    IN    THE    ARMS    OF    JESUS 

assist  the  Greeks  to  gain  their  independ- 
ence. It  was  an  inspiration  to  her  to 
come  into  this  close  relation  with  one 
who  had  known  the  brilliant  EngUsh 
poet.  She  was  also  greatly  encour- 
aged on  learning  that  Homer,  Ossian, 
Milton,  and  others,  although  blind,  had 
become  famous  authors. 

Her  mental  development  was  rapid, 
and  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  she  be- 
came a  teacher  in  the  school  in  which 
for  seven  years  she  had  been  a  pupil. 
Soon  after,  WilHam  Cullen  Bryant, 
who  was  then  at  the  height  of  his  fame, 
visited  the  institution  and  spoke  en- 
couragingly to  the  young  teacher  of 
some  verses  of  hers  which  he  had 
chanced  to  read.  "  He  never  knew," 
she  said,  "how  much  good  he  did  by 
those  few  words  to  the  young  girl  who 
had  hardly  hoped  to  touch  the  hem  of 
his  proud  robe  of  poetic  genius." 

During  these  years  she  had  written 
much  poetry,  and  was  specially  pleased 

327 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

when  the  distinguished  Scotch  phrenol- 
ogist, Dr.  George  Combe,  visiting  the 
school,  examined  her  head  and  ex- 
claimed: "Why,  here  is  a  poet!  Give 
her  every  advantage  that  she  can  have; 
let  her  hear  the  best  books  and  converse 
with  the  best  writers,  and  she  will  make 
her  mark  in  the  world." 

In  1844  a  number  of  the  blind  stu- 
dents appeared  before  the  United  States 
Senate  and  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives in  an  effort  to  interest  the  mem- 
bers in  the  school  and  secure  an 
appropriation.  Fanny  Crosby  gave  a 
poetical  address.  "  I  have  been  told," 
she  says,  "  that  I  was  the  first  and  last 
poet  ever  invited  to  speak  or  recite  his  or 
her  own  productions  before  the  great 
National  Assembly." 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  names  of 
some  of  the  representative  men  who 
were  among  her  audience:  John 
Quincy  Adams,  James  Buchanan, 
Andrew   Johnson,    Hannibal   Hamlin, 

328 


SAFE    IN    THE    ARMS    OF    JESUS 

Stephen  A.  Douglas,  Rufus  Choate, 
Thomas  H.  Benton,  Hamilton  Fish, 
Henry  A.  Wise,  Alexander  Stephens, 
JeiFerson  Davis,  and  Robert  Toombs, 
all  of  whom  had  already,  or  subse- 
quently, achieved  national  distinction. 

When  Henry  Clay's  son  was  killed 
at  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  in  1847, 
Miss  Crosby  composed  and  sent  to  the 
grief -stricken  father  a  poem  of  sym- 
pathy. Some  time  after,  Mr.  Clay 
made  an  address  before  the  school;  at 
its  close  he  sought  out  the  blind  girl 
and,  leading  her  to  the  front  of  the 
platform,  said:  "This  is  not  the  first 
time  I  have  felt  the  comforting  pres- 
ence of  this  young  friend,  although  I 
never  saw  her  before.  Into  the  deep 
wounds  of  my  sorrow  she  has  poured 
the  balm  of  consolation." 

In  1848  General  Winfield  Scott  vis- 
ited the  school,  only  a  few  months 
after  his  great  triumph  in  Mexico ;  and 
shortly   after,   General  Bertrand,   one 

3?9 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

of  Napoleon's  most  brilliant  officers, 
who  was  with  him  when  he  died  an  exile 
at  St.  Helena,  was  a  guest  of  the 
school.  Two  years  later,  Jenny  Lind 
came,  and  entranced  the  teachers  and 
scholars  by  her  marvellous  singing. 

With  Grover  Cleveland,  who  fre- 
quently copied  her  poems  for  her  when 
he  was  a  youth  of  sixteen,  she  has  en- 
joyed a  long  and  highly  prized  friend- 
ship. His  brother  was  head  teacher  in 
the  school,  and  young  Grover  spent 
some  time  there,  immediately  after  his 
father's  death  in  1853,  as  a  clerk. 

In  1844  Fanny  Crosby  published 
her  first  volume  of  verse.  The  Blind 
Girl,  and  Other  Poems,  Since  that 
time  a  number  of  volumes  have 
appeared  from  her  pen. 

It  will  doubtless  be  a  surprise  to 
many  to  be  informed  that  Fanny 
Crosby's  real  name  is  Frances  Van 
Alstyne.  In  1858  she  married  Alexan- 
der Van  Alstyne,  a  blind  teacher  of  the 

330 


SAFE    IN    THE    ARMS    OF    JESUS 

school  in  which  she  herself  taught.  He 
had  been  a  pupil  in  several  of  her  classes. 
He  was  a  brilliant  musician  and  a  fine 
classical  scholar.  They  lived  happily 
together  until  his  death,  June  18, 
1902.  It  was  at  her  husband's  special 
request  that  she  continued,  after  her 
marriage,  to  sign  her  maiden  name  to 
her  writings. 

She  is  a  voluminous  writer  of  hymns, 
and  has  composed  over  five  thousand. 
She  has  written  as  many  as  seven  in 
one  day.  She  never  enters  upon  com- 
positions of  this  nature  without  an 
earnest  prayer  that  her  efforts  may 
be  used  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
uplift  of  humanity.  Among  her  best- 
known  hymns  are  "  Only  a  Step  to 
Jesus";  "Pass  Me  Not,  O  Gentle 
Saviour  ";  "  Jesus,  Keep  Me  Near  the 
Cross";  "To  the  Work";  "Blessed 
Assurance  ";  "  I  Am  Thine,  O  Lord  "; 
"  Only  a  Beam  of  Sunshine  " ;  "  Rescue 
the  Perishing  " ;  "  There  's  a  Cry  from 

331 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Macedonia  " ;  "  We  Shall  Know  Each 
Other  There";  "Just  a  Word  for 
Jesus  " ;  "  Saviour,  More  than  Life  to 
Me  ";  and  "  Saved  by  Grace." 

Perhaps,  however,  the  hymn  of  her 
composing  which  is  destined  to  have  the 
most  widespread  popularity  is  "  Safe 
in  the  Arms  of  Jesus."  It  has  already 
brought  peace  and  comfort  to  number- 
less lives,  and  will  continue  its  heaven- 
sent mission  for  years  to  come.  It 
seems  to  have  a  special  place  in  the 
hearts  of  mothers  whose  lost  darlings 
are  forever  "  safe  from  the  world's 
temptations." 

On  the  8th  of  August,  1885,  when 
General  U.  S.  Grant  was  laid  to  rest 
in  Riverside  Park,  on  the  banks  of  the 
beautiful  Hudson,  with  all  the  civic 
devotion  and  martial  pride  befitting  the 
foremost  soldier  of  his  time,  from  band 
after  band  there  came  on  the  solemn 
summer  air  the  comforting  and  sym- 
pathetic music  of  "  Safe  in  the  Arms 

332 


FANNY,    I    HAVE    JUST    FORTY    MINUTES;    DURING    THAT 
TIME  YOU  MUST   WRITE  ME  A   HYMN/' Page 


SAFE    IN    THE    ARMS    OF    JESUS 

of  Jesus,"  intermingled  in  tender  and 
touching  harmony  with  the  hushed 
notes  of  funeral  bells,  the  muffled  boom 
of  minute  guns  from  the  fleet  in  the 
river,  the  subdued  footfall  of  marching 
thousands,  and  the  suppressed  hum  of 
human  voices  which  is  heard  only  when 
vast  crowds  are  brought  together  by  a 
common  sorrow. 

Miss  Crosby  gives  us  this  interesting 
account  of  the  origin  of  the  hymn: 
"  One  day  Mr.  W.  H.  Doane,  who 
composed  much  beautiful  music,  came  to 
me  hurriedly  and  exclaimed :  '  Fanny, 
I  have  just  forty  minutes  to  catch  the 
train  for  Cincinnati;  during  that  time 
you  must  write  me  a  hymn,  and  give 
me  a  few  minutes  to  catch  the  train.' 

"  I  happened  to  be  in  a  good  mood 
for  writing.  He  hummed  the  melody 
to  which  he  wanted  the  words  written, 
and  in  fifteen  minutes  I  gave  them  to 
him  and  he  started  away.  Upon  his 
arrival  home  he  published  them,  and  I 

333 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

have  been  told  upon  good  authority 
that  the  hymn  is  now  sung  wherever 
Christian  music  is  known." 

She  also  gives  this  interesting  inci- 
dent in  connection  with  this  beautiful 
hymn :  "  When  Mr.  Sankey  was  in 
Edinburgh,  an  old  Scotch  woman  came 
to  him  and  said  she  wanted  to  thank  him 
for  writing  '  Safe  in  the  Arms  of  Jesus.' 
'But  I  didn't  write  it,'  replied  Mr. 
Sankey;  '  that  was  Fanny  Crosby,'  and 
he  sat  down  and  told  her  about  me. 

" '  Well,'  said  the  old  lady,  when  he 
was  through,  *  when  ye  gang  back  to 
America,  gie  her  my  love,  and  tell  her 
an  auld  Scotch  woman  sends  her  bless- 
ings. The  last  hymn  my  daughter  sang 
before  she  died  was  that  one.'  " 

A  mother  was  very  much  interested 
in  a  conversation  carried  on  by  her  two 
little  girls.  One  of  them  had  been  sing- 
ing "  Safe  in  the  Arms  of  Jesus,"  and 
the  other  had  interrupted  her  with  the 
question:  "  How  do  you  know  that  you 

334 


SAFE    IN    THE    ARMS    OF    JESUS 

are  safe?"  "  Because,"  was  the  response, 
"  I  am  holding  on  to  Jesus  with  both 
hands."  "  But  that  does  not  make  you 
safe,"  persisted  the  other;  "suppose 
Satan  should  cut  off  your  hands." 
For  a  moment  a  troubled  expression 
came  into  the  trustful  little  face,  but  it 
almost  instantly  cleared  and  she  joy- 
ously exclaimed,  "Oh,  I  made  a  mistake! 
Jesus  is  holding  me  with  His  hands,  and 
Satan  can't  cut  His  hands  off.  I  am 
perfectly  safe  in  His  arms."  Could  any 
answer  have  been  more  beautiful! 

On  the  24th  of  March,  1906,  two  col- 
ored men  were  hanged  in  the  jail  yard 
at  Mt.  Holly,  New  Jersey.  At  the 
moment  when  they  were  about  to  pay 
the  extreme  penalty  for  their  awful 
crime,  after  expressing  their  belief  in 
their  salvation,  some  one  was  heard 
singing  "  Safe  in  the  Arms  of  Jesus." 
It  proved  to  be  a  prisoner,  with  a  tenor 
voice  of  rare  sweetness,  who  occupied  a 
cell  overlooking  the  scaffold.    It  is  not 

335 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

too  great  a  stretch  of  faith  to  believe 
that  even  these  two  misguided  souls, 
who  atoned  for  their  crime  with  their 
lives,  and  confessed  their  contrition, 
may  have  been  saved,  even  as  was  the 
sinner  on  the  cross  at  Calvary.  "  If  we 
confess  our  sins,  He  is  faithful  and  just 
to  forgive  us  our  sins." 

More  than  ever,  as  the  years  go  by, 
the  popularity  of  Fanny  Crosby's 
hymns  increases.  In  almost  every 
gathering  where  the  salvation  of  souls 
is  the  chief  object  of  concern,  one  or 
more  of  her  compositions  are  sung. 
There  are  many  to-day  who  can  say 
with  grateful,  whole-hearted  sincerity, 
Thank  God  for  Fanny  Crosby,  and  for 
all  her  labours  of  love  and  usefulness ! 

"  Rich  in  experience  that  angels  might  covet ; 
Rich  in  a  faith  that  has  grown  with  the 
years," 

she  waits  serenely  in  the  mellow  glow  of 
life's  golden  sunset  with  little  to  regret 

336 


SAFE    IN    THE    ARMS    OF    JESUS 

and  with  much  for  which  to  be  grateful. 
She  knows  in  whom  she  has  beheved, 
and  as  she  bides  His  time  she  labours 
on,  sending  forth  hymns  of  hope  and 
love;  and  praying  still,  as  she  has 
prayed  along  the  years,  that  her  mes- 
sages of  cheer  may  reach  sin-stained 
souls,  and  that  through  their  blessed 
ministry  many,  at  the  last  great  day, 
may  be  found  sharing  with  herself  the 
supreme  spiritual  joy  and  privilege  of 
being 

"  Safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus." 


337 


XVI 

MY  COUNTRY,  'TIS  OF  THEE 


'^ 


34X 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 


C^^y/  9^0^*/  /Aet^    iiff/a.i>UL,    /^V-£^ 


■9  m^,f0C,^ 


S48 


the  rev  d   samuel  francis  smith,  d.d.,  author  of 
"my  country,  ^tis  of  thee/' 


MY  COUNTRY,  'T  IS  OF  THEE 

HE  Rev.  Samuel  Francis 
Smith,  D.D.,  author  of 
"  America,"  which  is 
better  known  as  "  My 
Country,  'T  is  of  Thee," 
attended  a  patriotic  gathering  in  the  Old 
South  Church,  Boston,  Massachusetts, 
in  February,  1895,  in  commemoration 
of  Washington's  birthday.  During  the 
exercises  Dr.  Edward  Everett  Hale, 
who  presided,  recited  Dr.  Smith's  popu- 
lar hymn,  and  repeated  the  comment  of 
Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  in  regard 
to  it:  "What  is  fame?  To  write  a 
hymn  which  sixty  millions  of  people 
sing;  that  is  fame."  Judged  by  this 
standard,  there  is  no  doubt  of  Dr. 
Smith  having  attained  fame,  for  his 
hymn  is  a  universal  favourite  and  is 
sung  with  patriotic  fervour  the  land 
over.  The  custom  is  becoming  general 
for  American  audiences  to  sing  it  with 

343 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

bared  heads  and  standing,  —  a  beautiful 
and  fitting  recognition  of  the  honour 
due  our  beloved  land,  and  the  reverence 
due  to  God,  who  has  so  signally  show- 
ered upon  it  His  choicest  blessings. 

In  a  letter  dated  "  Newton  Centre, 
Mass.,  November  7th,  1894,"  Dr.  Smith 
sent  to  a  friend  a  sketch  of  his  life 
and  an  autograph  copy  of  his  hymn, 
both  of  which  are  here  given.  The 
biographical  sketch  is  as  follows : 

"  S.  F.  Smith  was  born  in  Boston, 
October  21st,  1808.  He  studied  at  the 
Boston  Latin  School;  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1829  and  at  An- 
dover  Theological  Seminary  in  1832. 
He  spent  a  year  in  editorial  labours  in 
Boston.  In  1834  he  was  ordained  in 
Waterville,  Maine,  pastor  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church.  At  the  same  time  he 
commenced  as  professor  of  Modern 
Languages  in  Waterville  College,  now 
Colby  University.  He  held  this  double 
office  eight  years. 

344 


MY    COUNTRY,    't  IS    OF    THEE 

"  In  January,  1842,  he  removed  to 
Newton,  Mass.,  and  became  pastor  of 
the  First  Baptist  Church.  He  held 
that  office  for  twelve  and  a  half  years. 
Also,  in  January,  1842,  he  became 
editor  of  the  Christian  Review^  a  quar- 
terly published  in  Boston,  and  continued 
in  this  position  seven  years.  He  then 
became  editorial  secretary  of  the  Amer- 
ican Baptist  Missionary  Union  for  fif- 
teen years,  and  also  the  permanent 
supply  of  two  feeble  churches.  In 
1875  he  visited  Europe  and  travelled 
a  year.  Again,  in  1880-1882,  he  visited 
Europe  and  Asia  for  a  little  over  two 
years,  surveying  missions  of  all  denomi- 
nations in  Asia  and  Europe.  Since  his 
return  he  has  been  occupied  with  his 
literary  pursuits  and  correspondence. 

"  Have  written  poetry  from  my 
childhood.  I  have  on  hand  now  more 
than  a  hundred  hymns,  besides  numer- 
ous other  compositions,  many  of  them 
occasional. 

345 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

"  Wrote  '  My  Country,  'T  is  of  Thee,' 
in  February,  1832.  I  was  impressed 
with  the  tune,  which  I  saw  in  a  Ger- 
man music  book,  and  I  wrote  the 
hymn  to  suit  the  metre.  It  is  not  a 
translation  of  the  German  words.  The 
hymn  was  first  sung  in  Park  Street 
Church,  Boston,  at  a  children's  cele- 
bration, July  4th,  1832,  being  intro- 
duced, without  my  knowledge,  by 
Lowell  Mason,  Esq.  [Dr.  Edward 
Everett  Hale,  at  that  time  ten  years 
of  age,  was  one  of  the  children  who 
sang  on  this  occasion.] 

"  I  have  always  been  interested  in 
the  acquisition  of  languages,  and  had 
facility  in  learning  them.  I  have  read 
books  in  fifteen  different  languages; 
and  since  my  eighty-fifth  birthday  have 
undertaken  the  Russian." 

Dr.  Smith  died  on  Saturday  after- 
noon, November  16,  1895.  He  had 
just  entered  the  5.40  train  for  Read- 
ville,  a  suburb  of  Boston,  where  he  had 

346 


MY    COUNTRY,    't  IS    OF    THEE 

an  engagement  to  preach  on  the  follow- 
ing day.  Turning  to  speak  to  a  friend, 
he  gasped  for  breath,  threw  up  his 
hands,  and  fell  backwards.  He  died 
almost  instantly. 

On  the  morning  of  that  day  he  had 
entertained  at  his  home  in  Newton 
Centre,  where  he  had  lived  in  the  one 
house  for  more  than  half  a  century,  his 
old  friend  and  Harvard  classmate,  the 
Rev.  Samuel  M.  May.  Apparently  in 
the  best  of  health,  he  told  his  friend  of 
the  great  pleasure  he  had  experienced 
in  receiving  so  many  tokens  of  respect 
from  all  over  the  country;  and  also  ex- 
pressed his  gratification  at  being  able 
to  start  in  a  short  time  to  visit  his  son  in 
Davenport,  Iowa,  with  whom  he  ex- 
pected to  spend  the  winter.  He  bade 
Mr.  May  good-bye  within  less  than  an 
hour  of  his  death. 

A  little  while  before  this  visit,  Mr. 
May  had  written  to  Dr.  Smith,  congrat- 
ulating him  on  having  the  best  health 

347 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

and  the  greatest  ability  to  work  of  any 
of  the  four  surviving  members  of  their 
class  of  1829  in  Harvard,  and  Dr.  Smith 
had  answered  in  these  words:  "Yes,  I 
am,  perhaps,  the  best  in  health  of  the 
four  remnants;  I  am  grateful.  Did  I 
ever  tell  you  that  I  was  wee  and  weakly 
in  my  early  days  ?  But  the  beginning  of 
the  study  of  Latin  was  the  signal  of  my 
improvement,  —  a  queer  specific  for 
feeble  childhood,  not  set  down  in  the 
medical  books.  I  never  found  a  Latin 
lesson  a  task." 

On  the  day  of  Dr.  Smith's  funeral 
all  the  business  places  of  Newton 
Centre  were  closed,  while  the  stars 
and  stripes  were  at  half  mast  on  the 
common,  the  school  building,  and  many 
private  residences. 

As  is  well  known.  Dr.  Oliver  Wen- 
dell Holmes,  another  classmate  of  Dr. 
Smith  at  Harvard,  in  his  celebrated 
class  reunion  poem  entitled  "  The 
Boys,"  thus  refers  to  him: 

348 


MY    COUNTRY,      T  IS    OF    THEE 

**  And  there 's  a  nice  youngster  of  excellent 
pith,  — 
Fate  thought  to  conceal  him  by  naming  him 

Smith; 
But  he  shouted  a  song  for  the  brave  and 

the  free,  — 
Just  read  on  his  medal,  '  My  country,'  '  of 
thee ' ! " 

Herbert  D.  Ward  writes:  "Dr. 
Holmes  once  said,  '  Now,  there  *s 
Smith.  His  name  will  be  honoured  by 
every  school  child  in  the  land  when  I 
have  been  forgotten  for  a  hmidred 
years.  He  wrote  "  My  Country,  'T  is  of 
Thee."  If  he  had  said  "  Our  country  " 
the  hymn  would  not  have  been  immor- 
tal, but  that  "  my  "  was  a  master  stroke. 
Every  one  who  sings  the  hymn  at  once 
feels  a  personal  ownership  in  his  native 
land.  The  hymn  will  last  as  long  as 
the  country.'  " 

Continuing,  Mr.  Ward,  writing  in 
April,  1895  (seven  months  before  the 
death  of  the  venerable  author) ,  gives  us 
this   interesting   glimpse :     "  Dear   old 

349 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Dr.  Smith  and  I  happen  to  live  in  the 
same  town,  and  I  can  speak  of  him  with 
the  freedom  of  a  neighbour  and  the 
reserve  of  an  acquaintance.  He  is 
only  eighty-six  years  old,  and  he  gives 
the  impression  of  being  about  seventy. 
With  the  exception  of  his  deafness, 
which  necessitates  thoughtful  articula- 
tion in  talking  to  him,  he  is  as  hearty  as 
he  was  forty  years  ago.  The  simpli- 
city of  his  life  is  one  secret  of  its 
strength  and  beauty.  He  lives  in  a 
modest  gabled  brown  house  opposite 
the  common.  There  seems  to  be  a  sort 
of  poetic  justice  in  the  fact  that  on 
every  school  day  the  stars  and  stripes 
wave  to  the  breeze  from  the  tall  pole  in 
front  of  his  house,  and  that  the  words 
of  his  own  immortal  song  easily  and 
often  find  their  way,  in  children's  voices, 
across  the  common,  the  street,  the  little 
front  yard,  to  the  heart  of  their  birth. 
He  is  wide-awake  to  every  phase  of 
modern   life,   a   profound   student   of 

S50 


MY    COUNTRY,    't  IS    OF    THEE 

language,  a  courteous  citizen,  and  a 
Christian  neighbour  and  friend.  He  is 
always  happy,  and  he  has  conferred 
happiness  upon  millions." 

On  the  3d  of  April,  1895,  a  great 
celebration  was  held  in  Music  Hall, 
Boston,  in  honour  of  Dr.  Smith,  and 
above  five  thousand  people  attended  the 
afternoon  and  evening  exercises,  the 
afternoon  service  being  especially  for 
children.  Dr.  Smith  was  the  central 
figure  at  each  meeting.  The  decora- 
tions were  in  keeping  with  the  patriotic 
nature  of  the  occasion;  flags  and 
streamers  were  displayed,  together  with 
mottoes,  emblems,  and  banners.  In  the 
rear  of  the  hall,  on  a  black  background, 
and  printed  in  gold  letters,  was  the  first 
line  of  "  America,"  "  My  country,  't  is 
of  thee,"  also  draped  with  the  national 
colours.  Both  balconies  were  draped 
with  bunting,  caught  up  here  and  there 
with  appropriate  emblems  and  flags. 
The  seals  of  the  several  States  of  the 

351 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Union  were  represented  on  the  walls 
above.  It  was  a  picturesque  scene  and 
one  well  calculated  to  stir  the  hearts 
of  the  thousands  who  beheld  it. 

In  response  to  an  address  by  Gover- 
nor F.  T.  Greenhalge,  Dr.  Smith  said: 
"  I  have  no  words  to  express  the  gratifi- 
cation given  me  by  the  fact  that  you 
have  taken  my  poor  little  waif  —  of 
which  I  thought  so  little  —  and  made 
of  it  a  national  hymn.  When  I  think 
of  the  circumstances  under  which  it  has 
been  sung  —  in  children's  schools,  in 
war  meetings,  on  battlefields,  in  camp 
grounds,  and  in  hospitals  —  when  I 
think  of  the  spirit  of  patriotism  which 
I  hope  has  been  nurtured  by  means  of 
it,  I  feel  that  you  have  done  a  wonder- 
ful work.  I  feel  that  you  have  done  me 
and  yourselves  a  service  in  thus  teach- 
ing patriotism  to  the  children  and  to  the 
men  and  women  of  the  country." 

"  It  was  an  inspiration,"  says  a 
writer,  "to  be  present  and  to  have  the 

362 


MY    COUNTRY,    't  IS    OF    THEE 

honour  of  listening  to  the  laureate  of 
American  patriotism."  And  another 
writes  of  him  at  this  time :  "  It  is  doubt- 
ful if  Dr.  Smith  has  an  enemy,  an 
opponent,  a  critic.  He  is  a  splendid 
example  of  true  Christian  character. 
He  and  his  poem  have  gone  round  the 
world  as  promoters  of  love  of  country 
and  of  the  universal  kingdom  of  God." 
It  is  pleasant  to  know  that  our  great 
patriotic  hymn  had  its  inspiration  in  so 
pure  a  heart. 

A  handsome  souvenir  of  the  occa- 
sion contained  the  following  statement 
by  Dr.  Smith  of  the  origin  of  the 
hymn: 

"In  the  year  1881  William  C. 
Woodbridge,  of  New  York,  a  noted 
educator,  was  deputed  to  visit  Germany 
and  inspect  the  system  of  the  public 
schools,  that  if  he  should  find  in  them 
any  features  of  interest  unknown  to 
our  public  schools  here,  they  might  be 
adopted  in  the  schools  of  the  United 

fS  353 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WOELD 

States.  He  found  that  in  the  German 
schools  much  attention  was  given  to 
music;  he  also  found  many  books  con- 
taining music  and  songs  for  children. 
Returning  home,  he  brought  several  of 
these  music  books,  and  placed  them  in 
the  hands  of  Mr.  Lowell  Mason,  then  a 
noted  composer,  organist,  and  choir 
leader.  Having  himself  no  knowledge 
of  the  German  language,  Mr.  Mason 
brought  them  to  me  at  Andover,  where  I 
was  then  studying  theology,  requesting 
me,  as  I  should  find  time,  to  furnish  him 
translations  of  the  German  words,  or 
to  write  new  hymns  and  songs  adapted 
to  the  German  music. 

"  On  a  dismal  day  in  February,  1832, 
looking  over  one  of  these  books,  my 
attention  was  drawn  to  a  tune  which 
attracted  me  by  its  simple  and  natural 
movement  and  its  fitness  for  children's 
choirs.  Glancing  at  the  German  words 
at  the  foot  of  the  page,  I  saw  that  they 
were  patriotic,  and  I  was  instantly  in- 

354 


MY    COUNTRY,    't  IS    OF    THEE 

spired  to  write  a  patriotic  hymn  of  my 
own. 

"  Seizing  a  scrap  of  waste  paper, 
I  began  to  write,  and  in  half  an  hour, 
I  think,  the  words  stood  upon  it  sub- 
stantially as  they  are  sung  to-day.  I 
did  not  know  at  the  time  that  the  tune 
was  the  British  *  God  Save  the  King.' 
I  do  not  share  the  regret  of  those  who 
deem  it  an  evil  that  the  national  tune 
of  Britain  and  America  is  the  same. 
On  the  contrary,  I  deem  it  a  new 
and  beautiful  tie  of  union  between 
the  mother  and  the  daughter,  one 
furnishing  the  music  (if,  indeed,  it 
is  really  Enghsh)  and  the  other  the 
words. 

"  I  did  not  propose  to  write  a  national 
hymn.  I  did  not  think  that  I  had  done 
so.  I  laid  the  song  aside,  and  nearly 
forgot  that  I  had  made  it.  Some  weeks 
later  I  sent  it  to  Mr.  Mason,  and  on 
the  following  4th  of  July,  much  to 
my  surprise,  he  brought  it  out  at  a  chil- 

355 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

dren's  celebration,  where  it  was  first 
sung  in  public." 

In  an  article  written  for  The  Owt- 
looky  Dr.  Smith  added  the  following: 

"  I  began  very  soon  to  hear  of  the 
hymn  as  being  sung  in  numerous 
schools,  at  patriotic  gatherings,  at  pic- 
nics, from  Maine  to  Texas.  The  people 
took  it  into  their  hearts.  It  found  a 
place  in  the  hymn  books  of  the  various 
denominations.  It  came  back  to  me 
with  variations  in  Latin,  in  Italian,  in 
German,  and  in  Swedish.  The  scenes 
connected  with  the  Civil  War  called  it 
into  universal  requisition.  The  chil- 
dren had  learned  it  at  school,  and  now 
it  nerved  them  as  stalwart  men.  It  was 
sung  at  meetings  held  to  encourage  vol- 
unteering into  the  army,  to  celebrate 
victories,  to  fast  and  pray  after  defeats, 
at  soldiers'  funerals,  when  the  women 
met  to  pick  lint  and  prepare  bandages 
for  the  wounded,  or  to  forward  supplies 
to  the  front,  in  all  schools  and  in  all 

356 


MY    COUNTRY,    't  IS    OF    THEE 

congregations.  At  a  reception  which 
I  attended  once  in  San  Francisco  I 
heard  General  Howard,  whose  empty 
sleeve  spoke  volumes,  tell,  with  a  tremor 
in  his  voice  and  tears  on  his  cheeks,  how 
he  had  heard  it  on  the  battlefields  and 
in  hospitals,  by  day  and  by  night;  the 
poor  mutilated  soldiers,  as  soon  as  their 
wounds  were  dressed,  lifting  up  their 
voices  in  harmony,  and  singing  yet  an- 
other paean  for  their  country,  for  which 
they  were  proud  to  suffer  and  to  die; 
and  the  words  seemed  even  to  recall  the 
dying  to  life.  Not  a  dry  eye  was  in  the 
assembly  as  he  reviewed  the  experiences 
of  that  period  of  the  Nation's  peril. 
And  I  have  heard  the  hymn  myself 
sung  half  round  the  world,  wherever 
there  are  English  tongues  to  speak  or 
American  hearts  to  pulsate." 

The  Outlook  adds: 

"  The  great  celebration  of  Colum- 
bus Day,  at  the  World  Exposition, 
Chicago,  which  happened  to  fall  on  the 

357 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

birthday  of  the  author  of  VAmerica,' 
was  the  occasion  of  another  glorious 
utterance  of  the  song.  The  public 
authorities  determined  to  make  the  day 
not  only  memorable  in  honour  of  Co- 
lumbus and  the  discovery  of  America, 
but  also  contributory  to  the  patriotism 
of  the  country,  and  especially  a  lesson 
for  the  children.  And  thus  from  East 
to  West,  from  sea  to  sea,  from  the  ris- 
ing of  the  sun  to  the  going  down  of  the 
same,  the  hymn  of  patriotism  rolled  in 
tides  across  the  land  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific,  —  a  joyful  psean  of 
thanksgiving  and  a  pledge  of  infinite 
promise." 

On  the  Sunday  preceding  the  Boston 
celebration.  Dr.  Smith  preached  for  the 
last  time  in  Newton  Centre.  The  clos- 
ing words  of  his  final  prayer  had  an 
almost  pathetic  significance  in  the  light 
of  the  manner  of  his  death,  which  was 
soon  to  come :  "  So  let  our  lives  pass 
sweetly  onward  from  Sabbath  to  Sab- 

358 


MY    COUNTRY,    't  IS    OF    THEE 

bath,  and  from  year  to  year,  until  sud- 
denly, at  some  appointed  time,  we  shall 
be  permitted  to  change  the  earthly  for 
the  heavenly  temple;  the  music  of 
earth  fading  from  our  ears  only  to  be 
exchanged  for  the  music  of  heaven, 
whose  sweetness  shall  never  end." 

Dr.  Smith  relates  that  when  travel- 
ling in  Italy,  with  a  company  of  Amer- 
icans, he  spent  a  few  days  in  Pompeii. 
It  was  suggested  that  it  would  be  very 
appropriate  in  that  dead  and  buried 
city  to  sing  a  live  hymn,  and  "  My 
Country,  'T  is  of  Thee  "  was  sung.  A 
company  of  Scotchmen,  not  far  away, 
then  sang  "  Auld  Lang  Syne,"  and  soon 
another  group  was  heard  singing  a 
third  national  favourite. 

In  Boston,  in  July,  1895,  eleven 
thousand  Christian  Endeavorers  gave 
Dr.  Smith  a  royal  ovation  when  he 
appeared  before  them. 

General  James  Grant  Wilson  tells 
this  interesting  incident: 

359 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

"  At  the  Hampton  Institute,  near 
Fort  Monroe,  Va.,  they  have  a  peculiar 
but  most  interesting  and  effective  man- 
ner of  rendering  '  America.*  A  trio, 
representing  the  white,  negro,  and  In- 
dian races,  sing  together, 

** '  My  country,  't  is  of  thee. 
Sweet  land  of  liberty. 
Of  thee  I  sing.' 

The  Indian  alone  sings, 

"  '  Land  where  my  fathers  died  ' ; 

the  white  man, 

"  '  Land  of  the  pilgrims'  pride,' 

and  the  negro, 

*'  *  From  every  mountain  side 
Let  freedom  ring.' 

The  Indians,  in  chorus,  then  sing  the 
second  stanza,  beginning, 

"  *  My  native  country,  thee  ' ; 
360 


MY    COUNTRY,    't  IS    OF    THEE 

the  negroes  the  third, 

"  '  Let  music  swell  the  breeze/ 

and  then  all  join  in  the  last  — 
Our  fathers'  God,  to  Thee, 


M  ( 


Author  of  liberty, 

To  Thee  we  sing: 
Long  may  our  land  be  bright 
With  freedom's  holy  light: 
Protect  us  by  Thy  might, 

Great  God,  our  King.'  " 

Edward  Marshall,  the  talented  young 
newspaper  correspondent,  was  among 
the  Americans  seriously  wounded  dur- 
ing our  war  with  Spain.  While  in  a 
New  York  hospital,  receiving  treat- 
ment for  his  wounds,  he  dictated  for 
one  of  our  leading  magazines  the  fol- 
lowing pen-picture  of  the  field  at 
Guasimas : 

"  There  is  one  incident  which  shines 
out  in  my  memory  above  all  others  as 
I  lie  in  a  New  York  hospital  writing. 
It  was  just  after  the  battle  near  Santi- 

361 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

ago,  on  the  24th  of  June.  It  was  in  the 
field  hospital,  and  a  continual  chorus  of 
moans  rose  through  the  tree  branches 
overhead.  Amputation  and  death 
stared  its  members  in  their  gloomy 
faces.    Suddenly  a  voice  started  softly : 

"  '  My  country,  't  is  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  liberty. 
Of  thee  I  sing.' 

Others  then  took  up  the  lines: 

** '  Land  where  my  fathers  died, 
Land  of  the  pilgrims'  pride  —  ' 

"  The  quivering  chorus,  punctuated 
by  groans  and  made  spasmodic  by  pain, 
trembled  up  from  that  little  group  of 
wounded  Americans  in  the  midst  of  the 
Cuban  solitude,  —  the  pluckiest,  most 
heartfelt  song  that  human  beings  ever 
sang. 

"  But  there  was  one  voice  that  did 
not  quite  keep  up  with  the  others.  It 
was  so  weak  that  it  hardly  could  be 


MY    COUNTRY,      T  IS    OF    THEE 

heard  until  all  the  rest  had  finished  with 
the  line: 

"  '  Let  freedom  ring.' 

Then  halting,  struggling,  faint,  it 
repeated,  slowly: 

**  *  Land-of-the-pilgrims'-pride, 
Let  freedom  — ' 

The  last  word  was  a  woful  cry. 
One  more  son  had  died  as  died  the 
fathers." 

At  the  meeting  of  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Des  Moines,  Iowa,  in  May,  1906,  the 
Rev.  Henry  van  Dyke,  D.D.,  made  a 
strong  plea  in  behalf  of  the  churches 
which  had  been  destroyed  a  short  time 
before  by  the  disastrous  California 
earthquake.  During  this  address  he 
recited  two  additional  stanzas  for 
"  America,"  which  have  excited  deep 
and  far-reaching  interest.  Dr.  van 
Dyke   has   kindly    furnished   the   fol- 

363 


FAMOUS     HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

lowing  information  relative  to  their 
composition : 

"  They  were  suggested  to  me  in  con- 
nection with  the  wonderful  expression 
of  sympathy,  from  all  parts  of  the 
United  States,  with  the  sufferings 
caused  by  the  San  Francisco  earth- 
quake. I  remembered  my  journeys  in 
California,  and  with  that  remembrance 
came  up  to  me  the  vision  of  the  many 
sublime  and  beautiful  scenes  which  I 
had  looked  upon  in  the  course  of  my 
wanderings  through  this  great  land. 
I  felt  sure  that  the  patriotic  feeling  of 
every  true  American  must  have  within 
itself  the  recollection  of  such  visions  as 
these;  and  that  love  of  the  land  itself 
—  so  vast,  so  varied,  so  rich,  so  beauti- 
ful—  must  be  an  essential  element  in 
the  love  of  country. 

"Who  that  has  ever  lived  in  New 
England  can  fail  to  remember  and  feel 
the  charm  of  that  landscape,  with  its 
gentle  wildness,  its  cool,  friendly  wood- 

^  364 


MY    COUNTRY,    't  IS    OF    THEE 

lands,  its  bright  little  rivers,  its  white 
churches  crowning  the  hilltops? 

"  But  Dr.  Smith's  poem  needs  other 
stanzas  to  express  the  inexhaustible 
riches  of  the  sublime  and  beautiful,  the 
broad  and  varied  natural  enchantments 
of  all  America.  Let  us  sing  the  famil- 
iar and  well-loved  verses  which  come 
from  the  East;  but  let  us  sing  also 
of  the  North  and  the  West  and  the 
South,  the  Great  Lakes,  the  wide  for- 
ests, the  vast  prairies  and  the  blooming 
savannahs." 

The  lines  have  already  been  widely 
printed  and  almost  as  widely  mis- 
printed. The  following  version  was 
furnished  by  Dr.  van  Dyke  himself: 

"  I  love  thine  inland  seas, 
Thy  groves  of  giant  trees, 

Thy  rolling  plains; 
Thy  rivers'  mighty  sweep, 
Thy  mystic  canyons  deep, 
Thy  mountains  wild  and  steep, 

All  thy  domains: 

365 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WOELD 

**  Thy  silver  Eastern  strands, 
Thy  Golden  Gate  that  stands 

Fronting  the  West ; 
Thy  flowery  Southland  fair, 
Thy  sweet  and  crystal  air,  — 
O  Land  beyond  compare, 

Thee  I  love  best!" 


SM 


XVII 

THE  GLORY  SONG 


0  That  Will  Be  Glory. 


t»00,  BY  t.  O.  EXCCU. 


Chac.  H.  Oabriet. 


1.  When  all  my   la-borsand  tri>als  are' o'er,  And  I    am  safe  on  that 

2.  When,  by  the  gift  of   His   in  -  fin  -  ite  grace,  I    am  ac-cord-ed    in 

3.  Friends  will  b$  there  I   have  loved  long  a  -  go;    Joy  like  a   riv  •  er    a- 


beaa  -  ti  •  f al  shore,  Just  to  be  near  the  dear  Lord  I  a  •  dor«, 
beav •en  8  place,  Jost  to  be  there  and  to  look  on  His  face, 
round  me   will  flow;  Yet,  just  a    smile  from  my   Sav  -  ior,    I    know. 


Wnithro'the  a-g^s  be   glo-ty  forme 0  that  will  be 

>-— ,  O thatwlU 

JJ,-  ■  ■  -I 


glo-ryforme,       Glo-ryforme,        glo-ryforme;     When  by  His  grace 
be  glo-ry  for  me,  Olo-ry  for  me,  glo-ry  for  m&; 


I    shall  look  on  His  face.  That  will  be  glo-ry,  be    glo-ry   forme 


^n^S^rx^  0W-<2:>C<1<^ 


■^^<..-<S>^^;g>^ 


^fA^Aji^ 


THE    GLORY    SONG 

HE  Rev.  George  T.  B. 
Davis  thus  refers,  in  1905, 
to  the  great  Torrey- 
Alexander  Mission: 
"  Such  a  revival  jour- 
ney, which  has  completely  circled  the 
earth,  is  entirely  unprecedented  in  the 
history  of  the  Christian  Church.  Other 
evangelists  —  such  as  Wesley,  White- 
field,  Finney,  Moody  and  Sankey  — 
have  been  mightily  used  of  God  on  the 
two  continents  of  America  and  Europe, 
but  never  has  a  great  revivalist  gone 
completely  around  the  world  preaching 
the  same  gospel  to  the  yellow  races  of 
Japan  and  China,  the  mixed  popula- 
tions of  AustraHa,  and  the  dark-skinned 
natives  of  India.  ...  A  significant 
feature  of  this  world-wide  awakening 
has  been  the  prominent  place  occupied 
in  it  by  gospel  songs.    Everywhere  the 

371 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

people  have  caught  up  these  revival 
hymns  with  boundless  enthusiasm,  and 
God  has  wonderfully  used  them  in 
the  conversion  of  thousands  of  the 
unsaved." 

Among  these  great  revival  melodies 
not  one  has  so  thrilled  the  hearts  of 
men  and  been  so  blessed  of  God  in  the 
salvation  of  immortal  souls  as  the 
famous  "  Glory  Song,"  which,  though 
written  so  recently  as  1900,  is  already 
known  the  world  over,  and  has  at- 
tained unprecedented  popularity  and 
usefulness. 

The  gifted  author  of  this  stirring 
hynm,  Mr.  Charles  H.  Gabriel,  was 
born  in  the  late  fifties  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, in  Iowa,  and  spent  his  earlier 
years  on  a  farm  in  that  State.  At  the 
age  of  seventeen  he  left  his  home  and 
started  out  into  the  world,  alone  and 
unaided,  to  attempt  the  realisation  of 
his  boyhood's  dreams.  In  this  he  has 
been  eminently  successful,  in  spite  of 

372 


'VE  GOT  A  SONG  THAT  IS  GOING  TO   LIVE  I" PaS^e  872. 


THE    GLOEY    SONG 

many  difficulties.  He  is,  in  the  fullest 
sense  of  the  word,  "  a  self-made  man/' 
and  deserves  full  praise  for  all  that  his 
indomitable  perseverance  and  splendid 
energy  have  enabled  him  to  accomplish. 
Personally,  he  is  genial  and  sympa- 
thetic; he  is  a  lover  of  little  children 
and  a  helper  of  men  in  their  times  of 
need.  His  melodies  are  universally 
popular,  and  have  received  the  highest 
commendation. 

During  the  early  summer  of  1900, 
while  bicycle  riding  with  a  Chicago 
publisher,  for  whom  he  was  at  the  time 
preparing  manuscript,  he  said  to  his 
friend:  "  I  've  got  a  song  that  is  going 
to  live!"  He  then  gave  the  title  of, 
and  made  brief  quotations  from,  "  O 
that  will  be  glory." 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  this  famous 
composition  has  been  restricted  to  spe- 
cial publications,  its  phenomenal  popu- 
larity is  the  more  remarkable.  It  will 
doubtless  be  of  interest  to  state  that 

3T3 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

its  author  received  only  ten  dollars  for 
the  copyright  and  sole  use  of  it;  and 
this  admirably  illustrates  the  fact  that 
gospel  songs  are  not  always  written 
merely  for  gain. 

Charles  M.  Alexander,  the  magnetic 
gospel  singer,  has  made  the  "  Glory 
Song "  famous  wherever  the  English 
language  is  spoken.  He  was  born  on 
a  farm  in  Tennessee  thirty-eight  years 
ago.  His  parents  were  earnest  Chris- 
tians, and  both  were  excellent  singers. 
On  Sunday  afternoons  people  would 
drive  from  far  and  near  over  the  hills 
and  gather  on  the  pleasant  verandah  to 
enjoy  the  singing  of  sacred  hymns,  led 
by  the  father.  The  boy  early  devel- 
oped ability  of  a  musical  nature,  and 
his  parents  did  all  that  they  could  to 
encourage  him.  His  own  story  of  how 
he  received  the  special  inspiration  to 
make  the  most  of  his  life  is  very 
interesting. 

"  I  read  in  some  magazine,"  he  says, 

374 


3 

^^^^^^^^^^^Hi/'-'?  . 

■ 

I^^K^     ^^^^1 

B 

^^i 

l|H 

I  ••'^p 

1 

^R^r 

P 

1 

Photo   by  Gutekunst,  Philadelphia. 


THE    GLORY    SONG 

"  about  Gilmore,  the  famous  band 
leader,  in  which  it  was  told  how,  from  a 
poor  Irish  boy  coming  over  to  America, 
he  had  gradually  perfected  himself  in 
music  until  he  had  brought  together 
one  of  the  largest  bands  in  America; 
and  how,  eventually,  he  had  organised 
a  great  choir  of  singers  in  New  Orleans. 
I  thought  that  if  that  little  lone  Irish 
boy  could  do  that,  there  might  be  some 
chance  for  me.  I  never  quite  got  that 
magazine  article  out  of  my  mind.  I 
went  to  studying  band  instruments 
from  a  scientific  standpoint,  —  what 
combinations  of  strings,  brass  or  reed 
instruments,  would  produce  certain 
effects.  People  said  I  was  wasting  my 
time,  but  I  kept  right  on.  I  was  simply 
studying  to  perfect  myself  in  accord- 
ance with  my  dreams  of  the  future; 
and  I  did,  not  stop  with  singing  or  play- 
ing. I  would  go  and  listen  to  orators 
to  see  how  they  controlled  their  listen- 
ers, because  I  knew  that  if  I  was  going 

*  375 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

to  handle  big  crowds  successfully  I  'd 
have  to  learn  how  to  get  and  keep  their 
attention.  At  that  time  I  was  between 
fifteen  and  sixteen  years  of  age.  I  read 
a  good  deal  of  religious  literature,  and 
also  the  biographies  of  many  great  men 
both  of  England  and  America,  and  I 
found  that  reading  them  gave  me  an 
insight  into  the  work  for  which  I  was 
preparing." 

He  finally  became  an  instructor  of 
music  in  Maryville  College,  Tennessee, 
where  he  remained  until  his  twenty- 
fourth  year,  when  he  entered  the  Moody 
Bible  Institute,  Chicago,  and  took  a 
full  course  in  gospel  hymnology  and  in 
Bible  study  in  order  to  prepare  himself 
thoroughly  for  what  he  had  determined 
should  be  the  great  ambition  and  aim 
of  his  life,  —  the  reaching  of  the  un- 
saved through  the  singing  of  the  gos- 
pel. For  eight  years  after  graduation 
he  visited  a  number  of  towns  in  the 
middle  West  with  the  Rev.  M.  B.  Wil- 

376 


THE    GLORY    SONG 

liams,  assisting  him  in  successful  evan- 
gelistic services. 

In  the  spring  of  1902  he  went  to 
Australia  at  the  urgent  invitation  of 
Dr.  R.  A.  Torrey,  and  united  with  him 
in  the  great  revival  services  which  have 
since  that  time  been  extended  by  these 
two  consecrated  Christian  workers  al- 
most over  the  world. 

Mr.  Alexander  is  a  matchless  leader, 
and  has  a  charming,  winsome  person- 
ality. He  is  a  prime  favourite  wher- 
ever he  goes;  and  all  who  know  him 
love  him  for  his  sterling  worth  and 
genuine  manhood. 

We  will  let  him  tell,  in  his  own  words, 
how  the  "  Glory  Song  "  became  world- 
famous  : 

"  The  '  Glory  Song,'  words  and 
music,  was  written  in  Chicago,  by 
Charles  H.  Gabriel,  who  is  probably 
the  most  popular  gospel  song-writer  in 
America  to-day.  I  remember  quite 
well  the  first  time  I  saw  it  in  looking 

377 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

over  a  new  song-book.  I  just  glanced 
at  it,  and  then  said  to  myself,  *  That 
man  has  wasted  a  page,  for  I  do  not 
believe  that  song  will  be  sung  much.' 

"  Some  months  later  I  stepped  into 
a  large  Sunday-school  convention  and 
heard  an  audience  singing  it.  It  took 
such  a  hold,  of  me  that  I  could  think  of 
nothing  else  for  days  thereafter.  I  got 
my  friends  to  sing  it.  I  dreamed  about 
it,  and  woke  to  the  rhythm  of  it.  Then 
I  began  to  teach  it  to  large  audiences, 
and  soon  whole  towns  were  ringing  with 
the  melody. 

"  I  remember  one  little  town  in  Kan- 
sas, called  Wellington,  where  the  Uni- 
versity students  turned  out  in  a  body, 
young  men  and  women,  and  marched 
through  the  streets,  four  abreast,  sing- 
ing with  fervour: 

"  '  Oh,  that  will  be  glory  for  me, 
Glory  for  me,  glory  for  me; 
When  by  His  grace  I  shall  look  on  His  face. 
That  will  be  glory  for  me.' 
378 


THE    GLORY    SONG 

"  Later,  I  was  in  a  neighbouring 
town  conducting  a  mission,  and  the 
largest  revival  excursion  I  ever  heard 
of  came  to  visit  us.  They  had  chartered 
a  special  train  of  fourteen  cars  and 
two  engines,  and  brought  over  eight 
hundred  people,  —  many  of  them 
prominent  merchants,  bankers,  society 
leaders,  and  people  of  all  grades  and 
classes.  When  they  alighted  from  the 
train,  they  formed  in  long  lines,  four 
deep,  and  marched  through  the  streets, 
each  one  wearing  a  ribbon  on  which 
was  printed  in  large  letters,  *  Glory  for 
me.'  They  set  the  entire  town  ringing 
with  the  inspiring  song. 

"  This  was  a  little  while  before  I 
went  to  Melbourne.  When  I  started 
for  AustraHa,  I  made  up  my  mind 
that  the  '  Glory  Song'  should  be  the 
popular  song  of  the  campaign.  I 
felt  that  it  would  stand  any  pressure 
that  might  be  brought  to  bear  upon 
it.    I  had  the  music  plate  in  my  box 

3T9 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

and  determined  to  make  good  use 
of  it. 

"  Dr.  Torrey  had  requested  me  to 
go  ahead  of  him,  and  when  I  reached 
Austraha,  a  week  before  he  did,  I 
didn't  know  a  single  person  there.  I 
was  at  once  elected  Musical  Superin- 
tendent of  the  fifty  different  centres 
of  the  Melbourne  Simultaneous  Mis- 
sion. I  had  several  thousand  copies  of 
the  '  Glory  Song '  printed  so  as  to  be 
ready  for  the  great  welcome  meeting 
in  Melbourne  Town  Sail. 

"  I  remember  with  what  anxiety  I 
approached  that  meeting.  I  felt  that 
the  success  of  the  musical  part  of  the 
mission  depended  upon  some  one  song 
catching  the  brains  and  hearts  of  the 
people.  After  we  had  sung  a  few 
songs,  I  announced  that  the  next  would 
be  the  *  Glory  Song,'  which  was  to  be 
the  revival  song.  They  picked  it  up 
with  the  regular  Australian  enthusiasm 
and  it  was  an  instant  success. 

380 


THE    GLORY    SONG 

"  The  next  day  all  over  the  city  in- 
quiries were  made  for  the  '  Glory  Song/ 
It  was  printed  in  all  kinds  of  papers 
and  magazines,  hummed  in  street-cars, 
in  shops,  and  in  factories,  and  ground 
out  from  hand  organs.  Within  a  month 
it  was  being  sung  all  over  Australia; 
and  a  popular  writer  declared  that  it 
had  '  set  Australia  on  fire/ 

"  When  we  were  conducting  our  cam- 
paign in  the  great  Town  Hall,  Sydney, 
we  had  leaflets  with  the  *  Glory  Song ' 
printed  on  them,  and  an  invitation  to 
the  meetings  printed  at  the  bottom. 
We  distributed  these  by  thousands, 
handing  them  to  each  person  as  he 
came  in.  We  would  ask  them,  if  they 
already  had  a  copy  of  the  song  in  their 
song  books,  to  mail  the  leaflets  to 
friends  in  the  country  who  never  got 
new  songs,  or  put  them  in  parcels  as 
they  sent  them  away. 

"  One  day  I  had  asked  them  to  do 
this.    A  lady,  when  she  returned  home 

381 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

from  the  service,  had  occasion  to  send 
a  pair  of  shoes  to  be  mended.  She 
happened  to  think  about  the  *  Glory- 
Song  '  and  put  the  leaflet  into  the 
bundle.  The  next  day  she  went  down 
to  the  shoemaker's,  and  found  the  old 
fellow  pegging  away  with  tears  rolling 
down  his  cheeks.  She  asked,  *  What 
is  the  matter?'  He  replied,  *  Do  you 
remember  that  "  Glory  Song  "  you  put 
into  the  bundle?  Last  night  I  got  my 
little  family  around  the  organ  and  we 
sang  it.  I  noticed  the  invitation  to 
come  to  the  Town  Hall  and  hear  Torrey 
and  Alexander,  so  I  went  up  last  night. 
I  heard  Dr.  Torrey  preach,  and  I  gave 
my  heart  to  God.  I  have  sent  my  wife 
and  children  up  this  afternoon  to  the 
meeting,  and  I  am  just  praying  that 
God  will  save  them.' 

"  And  He  did.  The  next  night  the 
whole  family  came  forward  and  pub- 
licly confessed  their  acceptance  of 
Jesus  Christ. 


THE    GLORY    SONG 

*'  Wherever  we  went  in  Australia, 
Tasmania,  and  New  Zealand,  they 
would  immediately  send  a  request  for 
the  *  Glory  Song.'  We  would  often 
stop  at  stations  for  a  few  minutes,  when 
we  were  on  long  railway  journeys,  and 
people  would  get  to  know  when  we 
would  be  passing  through  their  town. 
They  would  often  telegraph  us  that  if 
we  would  get  out  for  the  few  minutes 
our  train  stopped  at  the  station  they 
would  have  a  lorry,  with  a  piano  in  it, 
and  a  crowd  to  listen  to  me  sing  a 
verse  and  to  Dr.  Torrey  while  he 
spoke  for  two  or  three  minutes.  I  re- 
member quite  well  one  place  where  we 
stopped  for  ten  minutes  they  had  a 
brass  band  playing  the  '  Glory  Song ' 
as  we  steamed  in,  and  fifteen  hundred 
people  had  gathered  there  for  that  brief 
service.  One  man  came  over  a  hundred 
miles  to  be  present  at  a  five  minutes' 
meeting  at  a  station. 

'*  When  we  reached  Great  Britain, 

383 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

everywhere  we  went  throughout  the 
Kingdom  the  *  Glory  Song '  was  the 
prime  favourite.  In  Birmingham 
the  streets  fairly  rang  with  it.  A  musi- 
cal expert  in  London,  who  watches  the 
songs  of  the  nation,  told  me  that  he 
had  never  known  any  song,  sacred  or 
secular,  to  captivate  Great  Britain  and 
the  Colonies  as  quickly  and  completely 
as  did  the  *  Glory  Song.'  I  have  had 
letters  from  Germany,  France,  Den- 
mark, China,  New  Guinea,  India,  Zulu- 
land,  and  other  countries,  saying  that 
the  song  had  been  translated  into  their 
native  languages  and  was  a  prime  fa- 
vourite with  the  people. 

"  It  is  a  song  that  takes  with  society 
people  and  musical  people  as  well  as 
with  the  man  on  the  street.  The  name 
of  the  song  at  once  interests  everybody. 
Millions  of  people  have  been  reached 
through  its  publication  in  the  daily 
papers.  I  was  in  a  great  many  parts 
of  London,  and  asked  all  classes  and 

384 


THE    GLORY    SONG 

all  grades  of  people  if  they  had  ever 
heard  this  song,  and  I  did  not  receive 
a  single  negative  answer. 

"  A  friend  of  mine  made  a  bicycle 
tour  through  western  England,  and  he 
said  that  people  were  whistling  or  sing- 
ing the  melody  on  the  streets  of  almost 
every  village  and  city  through  which 
he  passed. 

"  In  the  Welsh  revival  the  *  Glory 
Song '  was  in  constant  use,  and  was 
one  of  the  first  songs  to  be  used.  It 
was  called  for  at  almost  every  service 
we  held  in  the  Royal  Albert  Hall, 
London.  One  afternoon  I  did  not  have 
it,  and  at  the  close  of  the  meeting  I 
had  pitiful  and  indignant  appeals  for 
it.  One  clergyman  said  that  he  had 
come  two  hundred  miles  and  ought  to 
return  that  afternoon,  but  that  he  would 
remain  for  the  night  meeting  if  we 
would  sing  this  song. 

"  Before  each  service  requests  would 
be  handed  up  to  me  from  people  from 

t5  385 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WOULD 

different  parts  of  the  country  who  said 
they  had  come  long  distances  to  hear 
this  song.  I  have  also  found  that  the 
longer  people  sing  it  the  better  they 
like  it;  and  the  greater  volume  that 
can  be  secured  in  rendering  it  the  bet- 
ter it  is. 

"  One  afternoon  a  worker  came  to 
me  in  the  Royal  Albert  Hall,  London, 
and  said  that  a  Jew  had  been  present 
at  the  service  and  had  heard  the  audi- 
ence sing  the  *  Glory  Song.'  When 
they  came  to  the  words 

"*When  by  His  grace  I  shall  look  on  His 
face,' 

the  thought  came  to  him,  *  These  thou- 
sands of  people  seem  sincere;  they 
may  be  right,  and  Jesus  may  be  the 
Messiah.  If  that  be  true,  I  shall  never 
look  on  His  face  unless  I  accept  Him.' 
And  that  train  of  thought  led  to  his 
taking  Christ  as  his  Saviour. 

"An  interesting  incident  in  ref er- 
ase 


THE    GLORY    SONG 

ence  to  the  song  was  contained  in  a 
letter  I  recently  received  from  Eng- 
land. The  writer  said  that  the  song 
was  sung  at  the  launching  of  H.  M.  S. 

*  Dreadnaught,'  the  largest  battleship 
in  the  world,  one  of  whose  guns  is  said 
to  shoot  twenty-seven  miles.  King 
Edward  was  present  and  had  given 
orders  that  there  be  no  band  music,  in 
view  of  the  recent  death  of  his  father- 
in-law,  the  King  of  Denmark.  His 
command  was  complied  with,  but  no  or- 
ders had  been  given  prohibiting  singing, 
hence  the  blue- jackets  on  the  warship 
sang  several  hymns  as  the  vessel  was 
launched,  and  the  first  number  on  the 
program  was  the  '  Glory  Song.'  It 
was  simply  another  proof  of  the  popu- 
larity of  the  hymn." 

At  one  of  the  meetings  Mr.  Alex- 
ander made  this  statement :  "  Just  as 
I  came  in  the  door  I  was  handed  the 

*  Glory  Song '  in  three  Indian  lan- 
guages.    That  makes  at  least  fifteen 

387 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WOULD 

languages  into  which  the  song  has 
been  translated.  There  was  a  gentle- 
man in  the  Bible  Institute  in  Glasgow, 
Scotland,  when  we  held  our  meetings 
there,  who  afterwards  went  out  as 
a  missionary  to  China.  He  wrote  me 
a  letter  saying  that  as  soon  as  he 
got  to  the  mission  station  what  was 
his  surprise  to  hear  the  native  Chris- 
tians start  up  the  '  Glory  Song.'  So 
he  translated  it  into  Chinese  and  sent 
it  to  me.'* 

Mr.  Alexander  then  asked  the  audi- 
ence to  tell  where  they  had  heard  the 
"  Glory  Song."  A  man  rose  and  said, 
"  I  heard  it  in  Florida,  and  was  de- 
lighted with  it."  "  I  heard  it  in  New 
York,"  said  another.  One  had  heard 
it  in  Glasgow,  Scotland;  another  in 
Belfast,  Ireland;  a  third  in  Melbourne; 
a  fourth  in  Cardiff,  Wales ;  and  others 
in  Albert  Hall,  London,  Johannesburg, 
South  Africa,  Brighton,  England,  until 
it  seemed  that  almost  every  well-known 


THE    GLORY    SONG 

place  on  the  globe  was  represented  in 
the  audience. 

"  Three  years  ago,"  said  a  Danish 
pastor,  "  I  was  sick  for  a  fortnight,  and 
while  lying  on  my  bed  I  received  from 
London  a  copy  of  a  religious  paper  in 
which  there  was  a  report  of  the  Torrey- 
Alexander  revival  and  a  reprint  of  the 
*  Glory  Song,'  words  and  music.  In 
that  fortnight  God  came  to  my  heart  in 
a  wonderful  way,  and  as  I  lay  in  my 
bed  I  translated  the  '  Glory  Song '  into 
Danish.  When  I  was  strong  enough 
I  held  revival  meetings,  and  for  four 
weeks  we  sang  the  '  Glory  Song,'  and 
I  suppose  God  used  it  to  save  many 
people.  This  autumn  we  had  four 
meetings,  at  which  twenty-seven  hun- 
dred people  were  present  —  more  than 
half  of  them  men  —  and  we  sang  the 
'  Glory  Song  '  evening  by  evening  until 
their  hearts  were  glowing.  When  I  re- 
turn to  Denmark  I  am  going  from  city 
to  city  and  from  town  to  town  conduct- 

380 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

ing  revival  meetings  and  teaching  the 
people  to  sing  the  '  Glory  Song.*  " 

To  hear  a  great  congregation,  led  by 
Alexander,  sing  the  "  Glory  Song  "  is 
one  of  the  rich  spiritual  privileges  of 
a  lifetime. 


390 


XVIII 

SUNSET   AND    EVENING 
STAR 


^nrntt  anb  ebentns  £(tar» 

Snb  one  clear  call  (or  met 
^nh  map  ttere  be  no  moaning  of  tbe  bar, 

^SSHben  3  put  out  to  £;ea» 

Put  s(ucb  a  ttbe  asi  mobtns  ittmi  ailttp, 
tlToo  full  for  fifounb  anb  foam, 
Hben  tbat  bibtcb  breb)  from  out  tbe  bounblefi(iE( 

beep 
I    ^urns;  again  bome. 

tlTtoiligbt  anb  ebening  bell, 

^nb  after  tbat  tbe  bark  I 
!9nb  map  tbere  be  no  s^abnesifif  of  faretuell 

Wi\)tn  ^  embark ; 

Jf or  tbougb  from  out  our  bourne  of  ^imt  anb 
$lace 

Cbe  f loob  map  ^ear  me  far, 
^  bope  to  itt  mp  $tlot  face  to  face 

Mben  J[  babe  cro£(t  tbe  bar. 


lord  tennyson,  author   of     sunset  and   evening 
star/' 


SUNSET   AND   EVENING 
STAR 


OTHING  that  Tenny- 
son has  ever  written," 
declares  Dr.  Henry  van 
Dyke,  "  is  more  beauti- 
ful in  body  and  soul 
than  '  Crossing  the  Bar.'  It  is  perfect 
poetry  —  simple  even  to  the  verge  of 
austerity,  yet  rich  with  all  the  sugges- 
tions of  wide  ocean  and  waning  light  and 
vesper  bells;  easy  to  understand  and 
full  of  music,  yet  opening  inward  to  a 
truth  which  has  no  words,  and  pointing 
onward  to  a  vision  which  transcends  all 
forms;  it  is  a  dehght  and  a  consolation, 
a  song  for  mortal  ears,  and  a  prelude 
to  the  larger  music  of  immortality." 

As  a  poem,  this  exquisite  lyric  has 
already  won  a  foremost  place  in  our 
language;  and  as  a  hymn  it  is  steadily 
increasing  in  popularity. 

The  present  Lord  Tennyson  writes: 

395 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

"  *  Crossing  the  Bar '  was  written  in 
my  father's  eighty-first  year,  on  a  day 
in  October,  when  we  came  from  Aid- 
worth  to  Farringford.  Before  reach- 
ing Farringf  ord  he  had  the  *  Moaning 
of  the  Bar '  in  his  mind,  and  after  din- 
ner he  showed  me  the  poem  written  out. 
I  said,  *  That  is  the  crown  of  your  life's 
work.'  He  answered,  *  It  came  in  a 
moment.' " 

Jowett,  Master  of  Balliol,  said  to  the 
beloved  poet,  when  visiting  him  less 
than  a  month  previous  to  his  death,  "  I 
believe  that  your  *  In  Memoriam '  and 
*  Crossing  the  Bar '  will  live  forever  in 
men's  hearts." 

"  The  student  of  poetry,"  says  Dr. 
Louis  F.  Benson,  "  was  glad  that  the 
old  tree  should  bear  so  perfect  a  flower, 
and  the  religious  public  was  touched  by 
the  venerable  poet's  avowal  of  his  per- 
sonal faith." 

Space  forbids  that  we  give  even  a 
brief  review  of  the  life-work  of  the 

39G 


SUNSET    AND    EVENING    STAR 

great  poet  who  wrote  these  tender  lines 
"  in  the  white  winter  of  his  age,"  but 
since  it  is  so  intimately  associated  with 
his  last  days,  and  was  sung  for  the  first 
time,  as  an  anthem,  at  his  funeral,  there 
is  pecuHar  fitness  in  recalling  just  here 
some  of  the  very  interesting  events 
connected  with  his  death  and  burial. 

On  the  morning  of  Thursday,  Octo- 
ber 6,  1892,  at  half -past  one  o'clock, 
Alfred  Tennyson  "  passed  to  where 
beyond  these  voices  there  is  peace." 
One  of  his  physicians.  Sir  Andrew 
Clark,  said  that  it  was  the  most  glorious 
death  he  ever  witnessed.  There  was 
no  artificial  light,  the  room  being 
"  flooded  and  bathed  in  the  light  of  the 
full  moon  streaming  through  the  oriel 
window."  The  midnight  silence  was 
unbroken  save  by  the  autumn  wind  as 
it  gently  played  through  the  trees  sur- 
rounding the  house,  a  fitting  requiem 
for  him  who  had  so  often  wandered 
beneath  their  sheltering  branches. 

39T 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

The  tide  of  his  Kfe  ebbed  peacefully 
out  into  the  great  ocean  of  eternity,  and 
so  calmly  did  he  respond  to  the  beckon- 
ing hand  of  the  death  angel  that  those 
who  stood  about  his  bed  scarcely  knew 
when  the  end  came.  It  was  much  like 
what  he  himself  had  written  in  "  The 
Passing  of  Arthur  " : 

"  Then  from  the  dawn  it  seem'd  there  came, 
but  faint 
As  from  beyond  the  limit  of  the  world, 
Like  the  last  echo  born  of  a  great  cry, 
Sounds,  as  if  some  fair  city  were  one  voice 
Around  a  king  returning  from  his  wars." 

During  a  wakeful  interval  on  the 
afternoon  preceding  his  death,  he  had 
asked  for  a  copy  of  Shakespeare,  and, 
with  his  own  hands  turned  to  his  favour- 
ite lines  in  Cymheline: 

"  Hang  there,  like  fruit,  my  soul, 
Till  the  tree  die." 

These,  he  frequently  declared,  were 
among  Shakespeare's  tenderest  words. 

398 


SUNSET    AND    EVENING    STAR 

He  fixed,  his  eyes  on  the  page,  but  did 
not  speak.  He  may  or  may  not  have 
read  the  Hnes.  He  soon  fell  into  slum- 
ber, and  with  his  hand  resting  on  the 
open  book,  the  world-loved  poet,  weary 
with  the  burdens  of  many  years,  entered 
into  his  longed-for  rest.  There  could 
not  have  been  a  gentler  passing  of  a 
soul  to  its  Creator. 

Emily  Gillmore  Alden  has  happily 
caught  the  spirit  of  the  solemn  hour  in 
her  fine  poem,  "  A  Meet  of  Kings," 
two  stanzas  of  which  are  here  given: 

"  It  was  ideal  dying,  as  the  moonlight  touched 

the  face 
Of  English  King  of  Letters,  with  its  weird 

and  solemn  grace; 
It  silvered  all  the  iron  greys  that  spread 

the  pillow  white, 
And    made    that    room    the    vestibule    of 

heaven's  celestial  light. 

"  It  was  ideal  dying ;   the  shallop  crossed  the 
bar. 
No   pennon    at   the  mast-head,    but    't  was 
gemmed  with  evening  star. 
399 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

Such  Laureate  needs  no  Union  Jack  to  be 

for  him  unfurled  — 
He  was  beloved  of  nations,  and  his  Abbey 

is  the  world !  " 

With  true  poetic  instinct,  and  with 
a  pen  inspired  by  love  for  the  great 
poet.  Dr.  Henry  van  Dyke  has  en- 
riched our  literature  with  these  charm- 
ing verses : 

"  From  the  misty  shores  of  midnight,  touched 
with  splendours  of  the  moon, 

To  the  singing  tides  of  heaven,  and  the  light 
more  clear  than  noon, 

Passed  a  soul  that  grew  to  music  till  it  was 
with  God  in  tune. 

"  Brother    of    the    greatest    poets,    true    to 

nature,  true  to  art; 
Lover  of  Immortal  Love,  uplifter  of  the 

human  heart. 
Who  shall  cheer  us  with  high  music,  who 

shall  sing,  if  thou  depart? 

"  Silence  here,  —  for   love   is    silent,   gazing 

on  the  lessening  sail; 
Silence  here,  —  for  grief  is  voiceless  when 

the  mighty  poets  fail; 
Silence  here,  —  but   far  beyond  us,  many 

voices  crying.  Hail !  " 
400 


SUNSET    AND    EVENING    STAR 

Hallam  Tennyson,  in  his  fine  Memoir 
of  his  father,  thus  describes  love's  last 
tender  ministries : 

"  For  the  next  hours  the  full  moon 
flooded  the  room  and  the  great  land- 
scape outside  with  hght;  and  we 
watched  in  solemn  stillness.  His  pa- 
tience and  quiet  strength  had  power 
upon  those  who  were  nearest  and  dear- 
est to  him;  we  felt  thankful  for  the 
love  and  the  utter  peace  of  it  all.  .  .  . 
As  he  was  passing  away,  I  spoke  over 
him  his  own  prayer,  *  God  accept  him ! 
Christ  receive  him!'  because  I  knew 
that  he  would  have  wished  it.  .  .  .  He 
looked  very  grand  and  peaceful  with 
the  deep  furrows  of  thought  almost 
smoothed  away,  and  the  old  clergyman 
of  Lurgashall  stood  by  the  bed  with 
his  hands  raised,  and  said,  *  Lord  Ten- 
nyson, God  has  taken  you,  who  made 
you  a  prince  of  men !  Farewell ! '  We 
placed  Cymbeline  with  him,  and  a  laurel 
wreath  from  Virgil's  tomb,  and  wreaths 

401 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

of  roses,  the  flower  he  loved  above  all 
flowers,  and  some  of  his  Alexandrian 
laurel  —  the  poet's  laurel.  On  the 
evening  of  the  11th  the  coflin  was  set 
upon  our  wagonette,  and  made  beau- 
tiful with  stag's-horn  moss  and  the 
scarlet  lobelia  cardinalis;  and  draped 
with  the  pall,  woven  by  working  men 
and  women  of  the  North,  and  em- 
broidered by  the  cottagers  of  Keswick; 
and  then  we  covered  him  with  the 
wreaths  and  crosses  of  flowers  sent 
from  all  parts  of  Great  Britain.  The 
coachman,  who  had  been  for  more  than 
thirty  years  my  father's  faithful  ser- 
vant, led  the  horse. 

"  Ourselves,  the  villagers,  and  the 
school  children  followed  over  the  moor 
through  our  lane  towards  a  glorious 
sunset,  and  later  through  Haslemere 
under  brilliant  starlight." 

The  next  day,  Wednesday,  the  12th, 
he  was  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey, 
his  coffin  being  covered,  at  the  request 

402 


SUNSET    AND    EVENING    STAR 

of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  with  the  Union 
Jack.  Vast  multitudes  thronged  the 
storied  building.  The  nave  was  lined 
by  members  of  the  famous  Light  Bri- 
gade, successors  of  the  noble  men  whose 
distinguished  bravery  Tennyson  im- 
mortalised in  one  of  his  most  spirited 
poems  —  "  The  Charge  of  the  Light 
Brigade." 

"  Sunset  and  Evening  Star,"  set  to 
music  by  Dr.  Bridge,  was  sung.  It  is 
pleasant  to  have  the  following  graphic 
picture  of  the  scene  at  the  grave  pre- 
served to  us  by  the  pen  of  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  Dean:  "As  the  procession 
slowly  passed  up  the  nave  and  paused 
beneath  the  lantern,  where  the  coffin 
was  placed  during  the  first  part  of  the 
burial  service,  the  sun  lit  up  the  dark 
scene,  and  touched  the  red-and-blue 
Union  Jack  upon  the  coffin  with  bril- 
liant light,  filtered  through  the  painted 
panes  of  Chaucer's  window  on  the 
cleared  purple  space  by  the  open  grave, 

403 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

and  lighting  up  the  beautiful  bust  of 
Dryden,  the  massive  head  of  Long- 
fellow, the  gray  tomb  of  Chaucer,  and 
the  innumerable  wreaths  heaped  upon 
it.  In  the  intense  and  solemn  silence 
which  followed  the  reading  of  the  les- 
son were  heard  the  voices  of  the  choir 
singing  in  subdued  and  tender  tones 
Tennyson's  '  Crossing  the  Bar  '  —  those 
beautiful  words  in  which  the  poet,  as 
it  were,  foretold  his  calm  and  peaceful 
deathbed.  In  the  second  line,  the  clear, 
thrilling  notes  of  a  boy's  voice  sounded 
like  a  silver  trumpet  call  amongst  the 
arches,  and  it  was  only  at  intervals  that 
one  distinguished  Dr.  Bridge's  beau- 
tiful organ  accompaniment,  which 
swelled  gradually  from  a  subdued  mur- 
mur, as  of  the  moaning  tide,  into  a 
triumphant  burst  from  the  voices,  so 
blended  together  were  words  and 
music." 

"  Tennyson    retained,"    writes    Dr. 
Sutherland,  "  his  power  of  vision  and 

404 


SUNSET    AND    EVENING    STAR 

expression  to  the  last.  He  never  wrote 
anything  more  exquisite  or  enduring 
than  '  Sunset  and  Evening  Star.'  He 
had  all  that  makes  life  sweet  and  val- 
uable, —  *  love,  obedience,  troops  of 
friends,'  —  yet  when  death  came  there 
was  *  no  moaning  of  the  bar '  as  he 
crossed  into  the  haven  of  eternal  peace, 
for  his  intellect  was  unclouded  and  his 
faith  firm.  His  life  was  a  long  and 
golden  day  with  a  magnificent  sunset." 

The  President  of  Lafayette  College, 
Dr.  Ethelbert  D.  Warfield,  writes: 
"  His  after  verse  lost  the  early  force, 
but  rallied  in  one  last  lyric  to  give 
expression  to  the  brave  and  hopeful 
soul  which  made  the  man  a  poet;  and 
to  reveal,  like  a  ray  of  the  setting  sun, 
the  serene  beauty  of  his  evening  sky. 
The  world  was  thrilled  and  gladdened 
by  that  little  song,  and  now  that  he  has 
*  crossed  the  bar,'  we  do  not  need  to 
ask  if  he  sleeps  well  beyond  the  sunset." 

An  interesting  incident  in  connection 

4^5 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

with  the  hymn  is  given  by  Mr.  Harry 
Pringle  Ford:  "  Some  years  ago,  on 
a  beautiful  afternoon  in  the  early 
autumn,  I  went  for  the  first  time  along 
the  famous  Cliif  Walk  of  Newport, 
Rhode  Island.  To  a  lover  of  art  and 
nature  the  scene  was  one  of  rare  beauty. 
On  my  right  were  the  palatial  homes 
of  wealthy  men ;  while  at  some  distance 
below,  and  stretching  far  away  to  the 
left,  was  the  great  pulsing  Atlantic, 
making  its  ceaseless  plaint  to  the  lofty 
cliffs.  As  I  neared  the  end  of  the  walk 
the  ocean  was  beginning  to  reflect  the 
crimson  of  the  setting  sun.  Soon  the 
great  orb  sank  in  splendour  beneath 
the  waters,  leaving  on  the  surface  a 
pathway  of  burnished  gold  and  a  sky 
aglow  with  colour.  Near-by  yachts,  be- 
lated by  the  calm,  caught  the  freshen- 
ing evening  breeze  and  sped  for  the 
harbour,  while  far-away  ships  gave  an 
added  touch  to  the  picturesqueness  of 
the    well-nigh    perfect    scene.      As    I 

406 


SUNSET    AND    EVENING    STAE 

looked  out  over  the  limpid  waters,  and 
then  up  to  the  magnificent  afterglow  in 
the  western  sky,  my  eye  caught,  in  the 
cloudless  atmosphere,  the  gleam  of  a 
star,  resplendent  in  its  beauty.  In- 
stantly there  flashed  upon  my  mind  the 
words : 

"  '  Sunset  and  evening  star, 
And  one  clear  call  for  me.' 

"  I  was  younger  then;  and  to  me  the 
'  one  clear  call '  was  not  to  face  death 
but  Hfe;  to  take  my  Pilot  on  board  for 
time  as  well  as  for  eternity;  to  feel  the 
need  of  Him  as  much  on  the  open  main 
as  when  making  for  the  harbour.  The 
*  one  clear  call '  should  be  a  trumpet 
sound  to  present  duty,  and  a  splendid 
stimulus  to  all  to  *  follow  the  Gleam,' 
as  did  Merlin.  I  have  always  been 
grateful  for  the  sunset  and  evening 
star  at  Newport,  and  to  Tennyson  for 
helping  me,  by  his  tender  lines,  to  make 
the  experience  an  incentive  to  nobler 
endeavour;." 

40T 


FAMOUS    HYMNS    OF    THE    WORLD 

"  Sunset  and  Evening  Star  "  was  a 
favourite  of  Dr.  George  Yardley  Tay- 
lor, the  brilliant  young  physician  who 
gave  up  his  life  so  heroically  at  Paou- 
tingfu,  China,  in  the  massacre  of  June, 
1900.  During  the  days  preceding  the 
tragedy  the  little  circle  of  men,  women, 
and  children,  who  were  so  soon  to  seal 
their  faith  with  their  blood,  frequently 
gathered  about  the  organ  in  the  Com- 
pound and  sang  the  songs  of  the  home- 
land, now  doubly  dear  and  consoling  to 
them  because  of  their  helplessness  and 
need;  and  with  pathetic  prescience 
Tennyson's  beautiful  sunset  hynm  was 
always  included.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  imagine  a  greater  contrast  than  that 
which  existed  between  the  peaceful  sur- 
roundings of  the  gifted  author  when 
he  "  crossed  the  bar "  in  the  early 
autumn  morning,  and  the  wild  tumult 
through  which  these  brave  young  mis- 
sionaries went  to  their  martyrdom;  but 
we  doubt  not  that  the  same  gentle  Pilot 

408 


SUNSET    AND    EVENING    STAR 

who  stood  in  the  quiet  moonlit  chamber, 
while 

"  The   casement   slowly   grew   a   glimmering 
square," 

was  also  "  keeping  watch  above  His 
own  '*  at  the  awful  carnage ;  and  that 
after  the  "  sunset  and  evening  bells," 
He  tenderly  guided  them  all  —  poet 
and  martyrs  —  to  their  desired  haven, 
to  be  with  Him  forever  in  "  a  house 
not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the 
heavens." 


409 


Princeton  Theolog 


,cal  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  01084  1320 


Date  Due 


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